HDFC Bank has appointed Anup Bagchi as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, bringing an experienced ICICI Group veteran to the top job at India’s largest private sector lender.
The appointment, approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will be for three years from October 27, 2026, subject to shareholder approval. Bagchi will succeed Sashidhar Jagdishan, whose current term ends on October 26. He will join HDFC Bank as an additional director from October 2 and take over as MD and CEO the following month.
The leadership change marks an important moment for HDFC Bank. Bagchi is the first external candidate to be selected as the bank’s chief executive, breaking with a succession pattern that has largely favoured leaders from within the organisation.
At 56, Bagchi brings more than three decades of experience across banking, capital markets, wealth management and insurance. He has been associated with the ICICI Group since 1992 and has held senior positions across several businesses.
His career includes a stint as Executive Director at ICICI Bank from 2017 to 2023, where he oversaw retail, business and rural banking before moving to wholesale banking. He also held responsibilities spanning treasury, investment banking and digital financial services.
Bagchi later served as Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Securities for six years. Since June 2023, he has headed ICICI Prudential Life Insurance as its MD and CEO. He also served as chairman of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company until May 2023 and held board positions within the wider ICICI Group.
His tenure at ICICI Prudential Life has also delivered measurable business growth. The insurer’s annualised premium equivalent rose 15% year-on-year to ₹10,407 crore in FY25, crossing the ₹10,000-crore mark for the first time. Profit after tax increased by nearly 40% to ₹1,189 crore during the year.
Bagchi is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
His move to HDFC Bank comes after a closely watched CEO succession process. Jagdishan, who took charge in October 2020 after succeeding banking veteran Aditya Puri, decided in August that he would not seek another term. His decision prompted HDFC Bank to accelerate its search for a successor.
The bank had submitted two names to the RBI for consideration, including Bagchi and HDFC Bank’s Deputy Managing Director Kaizad Bharucha. The central bank subsequently approved Bagchi’s appointment.
The new CEO will inherit a bank navigating several business and leadership challenges. HDFC Bank has been working through the longer-term impact of its merger with Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), while also focusing on deposit mobilisation, retail growth and profitability.
The bank’s net interest margin (NIM), a closely watched measure of lending profitability, stood at 3.26% in the first quarter of FY27, down from 3.38% in the previous quarter. Its CASA ratio, which reflects low-cost current and savings deposits, also declined to 32.3% in Q1 FY27 from 34.1% in FY26.
Profit growth has also moderated. HDFC Bank reported a 5% year-on-year increase in net profit in the June quarter, according to Reuters. The bank’s leadership transition comes against this backdrop, along with concerns around investor confidence and the need to strengthen deposit growth.
Governance and leadership changes have added another layer to the transition. HDFC Bank chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned in March, citing concerns about certain practices at the bank. A subsequent independent legal review commissioned by the bank found no evidence supporting those governance-related concerns.
Bagchi’s immediate priorities are therefore likely to extend beyond simply managing the leadership handover. Analysts have pointed to the need to accelerate retail and deposit growth, rebuild the CASA franchise, improve margins, strengthen technology and enhance communication with investors.
His experience across retail banking, wholesale banking, capital markets and insurance gives him exposure to several parts of the financial services ecosystem. His appointment also brings an external perspective at a time when HDFC Bank is seeking to sharpen its growth strategy and strengthen execution.
The transition will become official on October 27, when Bagchi takes charge from Jagdishan. His three-year term will run until October 26, 2029, under terms and remuneration approved by the RBI and subject to shareholder approval.
The change places a new face at the helm of HDFC Bank at a time when scale, profitability, deposit growth, technology and investor confidence are all central to the lender’s next phase.