RBI asks HDFC Bank to submit proposal on two crucial appointments after new CEO takes over

New Delhi: Private lender HDFC Bank on Wednesday said the RBI has asked it to examine and submit the proposal regarding two crucial appointments only after a new CEO assumes charge later this year. On 28 November, 2019, the Mumbai-headquartered lender had informed the stock exchanges about the appointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan and Bhavesh Zaveri by the Board of Directors each as Additional Director and Executive Director (Whole-Time Director) of the bank, subject to the approval of the Reserve Bank of India and the shareholders.

RBI puts key board appointments of @HDFC_Bank on hold until a new CEO is appointed. Why is the RBI move significant? Industry sources tell us pic.twitter.com/UlK5nDRlRO

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 9, 2020

“We are now in receipt of a communication dated 7 April, 2020 from Reserve Bank of India stating that since these are important positions in the Bank, the Bank is advised to examine and submit the proposal after a new MD and CEO assumes charge later this year,” HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing. Click here to follow LIVE news and updates on stock markets The bank will accordingly ensure compliance with Reserve Bank’’s instruction, it added. Sashidhar Jagdishan and Bhavesh Zaveri shall continue as additional directors on the board of the bank till the ensuing Annual General Meeting, in terms of the relevant provisions of Companies Act, 2013, it added. Bank’s long-time MD and CEO Aditya Puri is set to retire in October this year as he would turn 70, in accordance with the RBI guidelines on age limit. The lender had in November informed about launching a global hunt to find a successor to the founding-chief executive. HDFC Bank scrip closed at Rs 888.95 apiece on the BSE, down 0.83 percent from the previous close.