No Issue at HDFC Bank Says Interim Chairman Keki Mistry
The RBI has granted its approval for the appointment of Keki Mistry as an interim part-time chairman with effect from March 19, 2026
Mumbai: HDFC Bank’s interim chairman Keki Mistry on Thursday allayed concerns that the lender’s governance standards were of “world class” and that there were “no major issues” at the bank following the sudden resignation of part-time chairman and independent director Atanu Chakraborty.
Chakraborty who served the board since 2021 resigned late Wednesday evening stating that certain happenings and practices within the bank observed over the last two years were not in congruence with his personal values and ethics.
Speaking to reporters, Mistry said, “I would not personally have taken the responsibility if the bank's governance standards and ethos were not aligned with my values, and I truly believe that the bank adopts the best form of governance and ethics.”
Several board members present at the media interaction said that Chakraborty was asked to specify the issues he had, so that they could be addressed, but his response was that there was nothing substantive.
“At one end in the sentence and in the body of the letter Mr Chakraborty had mentioned his comments on ethics, and we had asked him to elaborate, because if it was anything, then we need to correct it. Every time we asked that, his response was nothing, and that was baffling,” said Renu Sud Karnad, a non-executive director on the HDFC Bank board.
HDFC Bank’s shares hit a 52-week low of Rs 772 on the BSE on Thursday, before recovering a bit to close at Rs 779.70, still 5.1 per cent lower.
Meanwhile, financial services secretary M Nagaraju said HDFC Bank is a strong institution with strong fundamentals. Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank said there were no material concerns on record as regards the bank's conduct or governance. “HDFC Bank is a domestic systemically important bank (D-SIB) with sound financials, a professionally run board and a competent management team. Based on our periodical assessment, there are no material concerns on record as regards its conduct or governance,” the RBI said in a statement.
The statement emphasised that the bank remains well capitalised and its financial position remains satisfactory with sufficient liquidity. The RBI has granted its approval for the appointment of Keki Mistry as an interim part-time chairman with effect from March 19, 2026, for a period of three months.
