Former SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara in the run for next HDFC Bank MD & CEO: Exclusive

Former State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara is being considered by the board of HDFC Bank's board to succeed Sashidhar Jagdishan as the next MD & CEO of India's largest private sector lender, sources in the know told CNBC-TV18.

Sources said that Khara had been approached by HDFC Bank even for the position of the part-time Chairman, but he had declined the same. The approach was made after Atanu Chakraborty had quit in March, post which, Rajiv Kumar was appointed part-time Chairman.

HDFC Bank is also looking at other SBI Managing Directors as likely candidates to become the next MD & CEO, adding that SBI executives have the experience of leading a large bank successfully.

65-year old Khara had served as the Chairman of India's largest lender, State Bank of India from October 7, 2020 till August 28, 2024.

“I have no clue about it and genuinely have no comment on the subject," Dinesh Khara told CNBC-TV18 in response to the story.

HDFC Bank announced over the weekend that MD & CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan will not be seeking reappointment as MD & CEO once his tenure is complete on October 26 this year.

Sources had earlier told CNBC-TV18 that both internal and external candidates are being considered for this new role. Among the internal candidates,

Deputy Managing Director Kaizad Bharucha is also being considered.

However, the fact that his 15-year tenure as a whole-time director on the board will end in 2029, it will give him a very small run at the top and that could act as a hinderance for his name to be considered.

Analysts who have coverage on HDFC Bank are divided over the developments. While brokerages like Macquarie and Bernstein believe that this will add to the uncertainty over the next CEO of the lender, at a time when investor confidence is already fragile, brokerages like Nomura believe that a suitable successor could prove to be a meaningful re-rating trigger. JPMorgan also believes that the scope for de-rating at HDFC Bank is limited, as the current valuations are already factoring in a lot of the potential headwinds.

Shares of HDFC Bank ended 1.2% higher on Friday at ₹719.5. The stock is down 27% so far this year, which will be the first year of negative returns in over a decade.