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HDFC Bank's board has moved to fill its top board position by appointing former Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as Part-time (Non-Executive) Chairman, a step the lender says will provide stability as it readies for its next growth phase and seeks continuity at the executive level.
"We wish to inform you that the Board of Directors of the Bank at its meeting held today i.e. on June 29, 2026... approved the appointment of Mr. Rajiv Kumar as an Additional Director (Independent Director) of the Bank for a period of 4 (four) years, with effect from June 30, 2026," HDFC Bank said in an exchange filing on the NSE. The appointment as Independent Director is "subject to the approval of Shareholders of the Bank." The board also approved, subject to the approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the appointment, including remuneration of Rajiv Kumar as a Part-time Chairman of the Bank for a period of three years effective from the date as approved by the central bank. The bank confirmed that Rajiv Kumar is not debarred from holding the office of a Director, by virtue of any order passed by SEBI or any other such authority. The appointment ends a months-long search after Atanu Chakraborty "abruptly stepped down on March 18, 2026, citing that 'certain happenings and practices' within the bank... were 'not in congruence' with his personal values and ethics." Veteran banker Keki Mistry had stepped in as interim part-time chairman. An independent legal review by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Wadia Ghandy & Co. found Chakraborty's allegations were "not substantiated." Kumar, 66, retired as Finance Secretary in February 2020. As Secretary, Department of Financial Services from 2017-2020, he "steered the clean-up of public sector bank balance sheets" via the "4R strategy -- Recognition, Resolution, Recapitalisation and Reforms." His tenure saw "a capital infusion exceeding Rs 3 lakh crore into public sector banks, and the consolidation of 27 public sector banks into 12 entities." He later served as the 25th Chief Election Commissioner, overseeing the 2024 Lok Sabha polls with "approximately 642 million electors." He has also been on the boards of RBI, SBI and NABARD. With the chairman appointment now in place, the board is expected to take up the tenure extension of MD and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan, whose current term ends in October 2026. The bank has scheduled its 32nd AGM on August 5, 2026, with a revised notice to include resolutions on Kumar's appointment. (ANI)
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