HDFC Bank Appoints Former Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as Chairman

The board of HDFC Bank has approved the appointment of former Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar as part-time Chairman for a period of three years, effective from the date as approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Rajiv Kumar, 66, a 1984-batch ex-IAS officer and former Finance Secretary of India in February 2020, has also been appointed as Additional Director (Independent) of the bank for a period of four years effective June 30, 2026, the bank said in an exchange filing.

His appointment has come more than three months after former part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned with immediate effect on March 18, saying that “certain happenings and practices within the bank are not in congruence with my personal values and ethics”. Giving a “clean chit” to the bank, the law firms — Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC and Wadia Ghandy & Co — said the contemporaneous evidence reviewed was inconsistent with Chakraborty’s statement, and law firms’ review did not identify any basis for the statement.

The bank has been on the search for a new chairman after Chakraborty resigned citing certain “happenings and practices”.

Meanwhile, Sashidhar Jagdishan’s current tenure as Managing Director (RBI) and CEO of HDFC Bank is scheduled to end on October 26, 2026. He served in the role from October 27, 2020. His current three-year term (October 27, 2023, to October 26, 2026) was approved by the RBI in 2023. The board is expected to recommend Jagdishan for a third term as MD and CEO, subject to RBI approval. The reappointment process, which has been on hold pending the external legal review, is likely to happen as the law firms had submitted the report, exonerating the bank.