The Reserve Bank of India has sought feedback from the insurance regulator and ICICI Bank chief executive Sandeep Bakhshi on the candidature of Anup Bagchi for the top job at HDFC Bank, two people familiar with the matter said.
The 55-year-old, who has been managing director and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance for the past three years, is the front-runner for the position of MD and CEO at HDFC Bank. The RBI is examining whether his absence from mainstream banking during this period could affect the speed at which he adapts to changes in the regulatory and operating environment, the people said.
Before becoming the CEO at the insurer in 2023, he was an executive director at ICICI Bank from 2017, heading the wholesale banking, transaction banking, markets group and the proprietary trading group.
The assessment comes against a tight timeline. HDFC Bank this month submitted an application to the RBI, proposing the names of two candidates for the position. The banking regulator typically takes more than 35 days to respond after receiving such applications, while incumbent Sashidhar Jagdishan‘s term ends on October 26.
“The key question is whether the RBI is comfortable with Bagchi’s transition back into mainstream banking after more than three years away. Feedback from Irda (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) and ICICI Bank will be important in that assessment,” said one of the people familiar with the matter. “With Jagdishan’s term ending on October 26, the board may also have to keep contingency options ready if the regulatory process stretches beyond the available window.”
Internal Choice
An earlier instance of the RBI clearing the appointment of a banker returning from the insurance industry to head a private sector bank was Amitabh Chaudhry. He became MD and CEO of Axis Bank in 2019, after spending nearly nine years leading HDFC Life Insurance.
The RBI did not respond to ET’s request for comment.
The central bank is also evaluating HDFC Bank deputy managing director Kaizad Bharucha (61), the second candidate proposed by the lender. Bharucha, however, has been a whole-time director of the bank since June 2014 and would hit the RBI’s 15-year ceiling for continuous tenure as a whole-time director, MD or CEO in June 2029, before he could complete a full three-year term at the job.
HDFC Bank has sought a relaxation of about six months from the tenure rules that would allow Bharucha, if selected, to complete a full three-year term. People familiar with the matter said such dispensations are typically considered only in exceptional circumstances, and the regulator may prefer a candidate who can provide a longer runway at the country’s largest non-state lender. “Bharucha remains a credible option, but granting a relaxation would require the RBI to make an exception to its tenure framework,” said another person familiar with the process. “Unless the first choice does not work out, the regulator may prefer an appointment that gives HDFC Bank a longer period of leadership continuity rather than revisit the succession question again in less than three years.”
ET was the first to report on September 14 that HDFC Bank submitted the names of Bharucha and ICICI Prudential Life CEO Anup Bagchi to the RBI for its top job.
The bank’s search began with a much wider field. It received more than 150 applications, of which around 50 were shortlisted and fewer than 10 bankers were eventually interviewed.
Jagdishan’s current term ends on October 26. He informed the board last month that he would not seek another term despite requests to continue, prompting HDFC Bank to accelerate its succession process.
