MUMBAI: The HDFC Bank board has appointed former chief election commissioner and ex–finance secretary Rajiv Kumar as chairman of the bank, subject to RBI approval. Starting June 30, the board has proposed a four-year term. The appointment ends uncertainty over the next chairman, following the sudden resignation of former chairman Atanu Chakraborty in March, who cited that his role was not congruous with his values and ethics. His resignation was followed by the appointment of board member Keki Mistry as interim chairman and an investigation by a legal panel, which found no evidence that Chakraborty had raised any concerns about the bank. Kumar, 66, a 1984-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre, headed the department of financial services from 2017 to 2020, at a time of peak banking stress marked by unprovided bad loans, weak capital, and a freeze in loan growth. Within weeks, Kumar froze 3.4 lakh shell firms, striking at black-money networks. This was followed by the 2019 deposits-ban law to curb ponzi schemes. His tenure saw a clean-up of public sector bank balance sheets through bad-loan recognition and enforcement of IBC-led borrower accountability. He later served as chief election commissioner, overseeing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He will be expected to use the same skills to restore confidence in the bank, which has seen a large number of senior-level exits in recent months. Kumar’s appointment is the latest in a broader churn in private banks. Apart from the chairman’s appointment, the bank’s board must also decide on the succession of the chief executive, as Sashidhar Jagdishan’s current term as MD and CEO ends on Oct 26, 2026. The board will have to submit at least three candidates to the regulator for approval.
