MUMBAI: Kaizad M Bharucha, whole-time director and deputy managing director of HDFC Bank, has emerged as the leading internal contender to succeed Sashidhar Jagdishan as the bank’s chief executive, after Jagdishan decided not to seek a third term.
Jagdishan’s second three-year term ends on October 26, 2026. Bank sources said the board is likely to finalise his successor before his departure, although regulatory approvals could take longer. The Reserve Bank of India typically conducts due diligence on CEO candidates for at least three months, while banks generally submit two or three names well in advance.
“The board is likely to go with Bharucha given their intent of having continuity,” a bank source said.
At 61, Bharucha is the senior-most internal candidate, having joined HDFC Bank in October 1995. He joined the board in 2014 and was elevated as deputy managing director in April 2023. He currently oversees a significant part of the bank’s assets franchise, including retail loans, rural banking, MSMEs and several wholesale banking businesses.
Bharucha’s candidature, however, faces a potential regulatory hurdle. The RBI caps the tenure of a whole-time director at 15 years, which Bharucha will complete in 2029. If appointed CEO, the regulator may have to relax the tenure requirement or initially approve a shorter term of around two-and-a-half years.
“Despite this impediment, the board is most likely to go with him,” the source said.
Bharucha was among the candidates considered for the CEO position in 2020 but was passed over in favour of Jagdishan, largely due to the preference of then CEO Aditya Puri, the source said. Puri, who led HDFC Bank for 26 years, had opposed the $40-billion reverse merger with mortgage lender HDFC, which came into effect in July 2023.
The bank is also evaluating external candidates, in line with the RBI’s requirement that lenders submit multiple names for the top job, including at least one external candidate. Possible names include K Balasubramanian, CEO of Citi India and a former head of corporate banking at HDFC Bank, and Hitendra Dave, CEO of HSBC India, the source said.
“Bharucha has the advantages of continuity, institutional knowledge and decades of being an insider. This is more so as the bank has undergone considerable changes since Puri’s departure,” the source said.
The RBI approved Bharucha’s reappointment as deputy managing director for three years from April 19, 2026, leaving him within the central bank’s tenure framework to move into the top job.
However, the bank’s senior management bench has seen several departures under Jagdishan. Key exits include Arvind Kapil, retail business head, in April 2024; HR head Vinay Razdan in June 2025; payments group head Parag Rao in September 2025; and retail head Rahul Shukla in October 2025. Executive director Bhavesh Zaveri left in April 2026, while Bhavin Lakhpatwala, head of strategy and investor relations, resigned in June and joined RBL Bank as CFO.
Current CFO Srinivasan Vaidyanathan is due to retire by the end of November, with Puneet Sharma, former CFO of Axis Bank, scheduled to take over.
Analysts have called for greater clarity on succession to reduce uncertainty around the bank’s leadership. HDFC Bank’s shares have fallen more than 27% since Atanu Chakraborty’s sudden resignation as chairman.
Moody’s said Jagdishan’s decision introduces a degree of leadership transition risk as the succession was not previously anticipated. However, it said the bank’s strong franchise, deep senior management bench and robust financial profile should mitigate the risks associated with a leadership change at a systemically important bank.
Domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal has also identified Bharucha as the likely successor. Another potential internal candidate is Jimmy Tata, chief credit officer, who has been with HDFC Bank for more than three decades.
