HDFC submits Kaizad Bharucha and external rival to RBI for CEO role, seeking term extension
HDFC Bank has nominated deputy managing director Kaizad Bharucha and one unnamed external candidate to the Reserve Bank of India for its top job while applying for a six-month relaxation of tenure rules.
HDFC Bank has submitted the names of deputy managing director Kaizad Bharucha and an external candidate to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the position of managing director and chief executive. The bank received more than 150 applications, shortlisted around 50 individuals, and interviewed fewer than 10 bankers before narrowing the external field. Two outsiders emerged as strong contenders: Anup Bagchi, CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, and K Balasubramanian, CEO of Citigroup India. The bank has sought a regulatory dispensation from the RBI to relax its tenure rules by approximately six months. This request would allow Bharucha, if selected, to serve a full three-year term before reaching the regulator-mandated ceiling on directorial tenure. The specific identity of the external candidate currently under consideration remains unconfirmed independently by sources close to the process.
