HDFC Bank names Anup Bagchi as CEO; to take charge from October 27

Consequently, the HDFC Bank board, based on the recommendation of the Governance, Nomination and Remuneration Committee, at its meeting held on October 1 approved the appointment of Bagchi as an Additional Director of the bank effective October 2 till the date of approval of the shareholders. Bagchi holds a Management degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and an Engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

According to banking sources, HDFC Bank board had forwarded the names of Bagchi and the bank’s Deputy MD Kaizad Bharucha for the CEO post to the RBI.

Bagchi will join HDFC Bank at a time when the bank was facing several governance issues. In March this year, the then part-time Chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned abruptly, saying certain happenings and “practices” within the bank were not in line with his “personal values and ethics”. The bank subsequently appointed external law firms to examine the concerns raised in his resignation letter. The law firms later submitted a report giving clean chit to the bank.

The Indian Express subsequently reported that HDFC Bank’s Audit Committee had ordered an internal vigilance investigation into payments totalling Rs 45 crore made to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s deposits during FY24 and FY25. The payments were allegedly routed through the bank’s marketing department and presented as contributions to a road-safety campaign rather than as differential interest on deposits. “The first priority of Bagchi will be to improve the governance standards of the bank,” said a banking observer.

Former Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar became the Chairman of the bank recently.

Bagchi, an ICICI veteran of three decades

Bagchi is a seasoned financial services leader with over three decades of experience across banking, capital markets, wealth management, and insurance. A member of the ICICI Group since 1992, he has built a diverse career spanning treasury, retail banking, wholesale banking, investment banking, and digital financial services.

Over the course of his career, he has held several pivotal leadership positions, including CEO and MD of ICICI Securities, Executive Director of ICICI Bank, and currently MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

“His career reflects a strong track record of business building, strategic leadership, and navigating the evolving financial services landscape. Bagchi served as Executive Director of ICICI Bank from 2017 to 2023, overseeing Retail, Business and Rural Banking, and subsequently Wholesale Banking,” the bank said.

During his tenure, he played a key role in strengthening the bank’s retail franchise, driving profitable growth while maintaining credit and cost discipline. “Under his leadership, ICICI Bank became the first private-sector bank in India to surpass a retail mortgage portfolio of Rs 2 trillion and successfully navigated the demonetisation period with limited business disruption,” HDFC Bank said.

Alongside his executive responsibilities, he served as Chairman of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company until May 2023 and was a Director of ICICI Prudential Pension Funds Management Company and ICICI Home Finance. Since June 2023, Bagchi has been serving as MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, leading one of India’s largest private life insurers, which is publicly listed.

Under his leadership, the company crossed Rs 10,000 crore in Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) for the first time in FY25, with APE growing 15% year-on-year to Rs 10,407 crore and profit after tax increasing nearly 40% to Rs 1,189 crore.

Jagdishan’s departure from the bank marks the end of a leadership chapter that began in October 2020, when the RBI approved Jagdishan’s appointment to succeed Aditya Puri as MD and CEO. Jagdishan had been with HDFC Bank since 1996, joining as a manager in the finance function. He later became chief financial officer in 2008 and played a key role in the bank’s financial and strategic functions.