After the approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), HDFC Bank has announced the appointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as Managing Director and CEO of the bank for a period of three years from his date of taking charge, which is October 27, 2020. This is as per the Section 35B of the Banking Regulation Act 1949.
Jagdishan, currently working as the 'change agent' of the largest private sector lender and head of finance, has been with the bank since 1996, and the appointment will put an end to one of the most keenly watched successions in the banking industry.
Former MD and CEO Aditya Puri is widely credited with building the bank from scratch and leading it for the last 25 years to be the second-largest by assets and also the most valued lender by investors. Puri retires on October 20.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which was given a list of candidates in an order of priority, conveyed its approval to Jagdishan's name late last evening, the sources said
According to a media report earlier this year, the bank had selected the names of internal candidates Sashidhar Jagdishan and Kaizad Bharucha, and Citi's Sunil Garg as probable candidates.
The bank said it has given three names in order of their preference.
Puri had recently assuaged shareholder concerns at his last annual general meeting as the MD and CEO, saying succession has been taken care of.
"He (the successor) has been with us for 25 years my successor was always in place, at least in my mind," Puri told shareholders at the lender's virtual AGM.
Puri assuaged concerns on training and business understanding, assuring the shareholders that the candidate has "learnt very well".
Jagdishan joined the Bank in the year 1996 as a manager in the finance function. He became Business Head‐ Finance in 1999 and was appointed as Chief Financial Officer in the year 2008. He has played a critical role in supporting the growth trajectory of the Bank, HDFC Bank said in a statement.
He is currently the Group Head of Finance, Human Resources, Legal & Secretarial, Administration, Infrastructure, Corporate Communications, Corporate Social Responsibility and the Strategic Change Agent of the bank. Jagdishan has an overall experience of 30 years. Prior to joining the bank, he was a Senior Officer in the Country Financial Control Division of Deutsche Bank, AG, Mumbai.
He has completed his graduation in Science with specialization in Physics and is a Chartered Accountant. He also holds a Master’s degree in Economics of Money, Banking & Finance from the University of Sheffield, UK.
The HDFC Bank scrip was trading 4.73% up at Rs 1,049.30 on the BSE at 1025 hrs, as against a 0.96 per cent gains on the benchmark.
With PTI inputs