Keki Mistry has sought to calm nerves of investors to employees and customers of HDFC Bank Ltd. alike after the sudden resignation of part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty over “ethical concerns”.
“None of us are aware of the issues raised by Chakraborty in the letter,” said Mistry, who served as chief executive officer of Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd. (HDFC Ltd.) before the mega HDFC Bank merger in 2023. “There’s no power struggle within the bank.”
HDFC Bank’s share price fell as much as 8.41% to ₹772.00 on Thursday, after India’s largest private-sector lender said that Chakraborty has resigned citing differences over “values and ethics”.
“Certain happenings and practices within the bank, that I have observed over last two years, are not in congruence with my personal values and ethics. This is the basis of my aforementioned decision,” Chakraborty said in his resignation letter to the board, a copy of which was shared in an exchange filing on Thursday (19 March 2026). “I confirm that there are no other material reasons for my resignation other than those stated above.”
Mistry, who is a non-executive (non-independent) director on the HDFC Bank board, has taken interim charge as the part-time chairman. Deputy MD Kaizad Bharucha will get more responsibility going forward. There’s no question on the reappointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as the chief executive officer of the bank, Mistry said. His current term ends on 26 October 2026.
“Differences on minor issues do come up from time to time — no material issues raised,” Mistry went on to say today. “There could be a relationship issue between Chakraborty and the management.”
According to CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan, Chakraborty’s resignation has nothing to do with operational profitability of the bank. “We will re-examine organisation structure as we move forward.”
Chakraborty was appointed as HDFC Bank’s part-time chairman in April 2021 for a three-year term and reappointed in 2024 through May 2027. It was during his tenure that the mega HDFC Bank merger came to fruition, “though the benefits of the merger are yet to fructify”, Chakraborty said in his resignation letter.
Expert Opinion
IiAS CEO Amit Tandon: “The RBI should be on top of the issue as HDFC Bank is a systematically important bank. But since the RBI has appointed a group insider Keki Mistry in his place it could mean less alarm for shareholders.”
Kotak Institutional Equities: “While governance standards have historically been strong for the bank, the current episode raises concerns about aspects that we may have limited insights, but could be material from a stock multiple perspective.”
