HDFC Bank’s managing director and chief executive officer Sashidhar Jagdishan has described the resignation of the bank’s part-time chairman, Atanu Chakraborty, on March 18 as a challenging event, while stressing that the lender remains committed to the highest standards of corporate governance.
Chakraborty had resigned citing “certain happenings and practices” within the bank, observed over two years, that were “not in congruence” with his personal values and ethics.
External Review Finds No Evidence To Back Claims
Jagdishan said in the bank’s annual report for 2025-26 that Chakraborty’s resignation letter had led to questions about governance standards at the bank, prompting the board to appoint external law firms to review the statement.
The exercise involved examining voluminous minutes, materials and communications, along with interviews of all independent directors and several members of senior management, including Jagdishan himself and heads of certain control and assurance functions, covering the two-year period referenced in Chakraborty’s letter. The external review concluded that the statement in his resignation letter, and its implications, were not substantiated by the record reviewed or the witness interviews.
Bank Says It Continues To Strengthen Governance
Jagdishan said HDFC Bank had continued to enhance its internal frameworks and refresh key control processes as part of its ongoing governance efforts. The bank’s board has since appointed former IAS officer and ex-Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the new part-time chairman and independent director.
Jagdishan also touched on the bank’s broader performance in the annual report, saying its mortgage business continued to strengthen, with HDFC Bank among the top two players in the segment nationally. He said the bank had been able to open savings accounts for more than 95% of new-to-bank home loan customers by the time of loan disbursement, with healthy levels of cross-selling.
On technology, he said the bank had embedded artificial intelligence directly into its systems and workflows rather than treating it as a standalone function, powered by its in-house platform, Neev, which provides a unified base for developing and deploying AI capabilities across the organisation.
(With PTI inputs)
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