HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank put two Anups atop banking’s big succession puzzle

Mumbai: Two of India’s largest private-sector lenders, and , Thursday named new managing directors and chief executives, ending weeks of speculation over leadership succession at two entities that routinely feature on the shopping lists of several foreign institutional investors (FII).

HDFC Bank appointed , former managing director and CEO of , as its next MD and CEO. Earlier in the day, Kotak Mahindra Bank named , currently an executive director and whole-time director at the bank, for the top post.

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Both have been appointed for three years each following approvals by the Reserve Bank of India (). Bagchi, 56, will take charge after Sashidhar Jagdishan’s six-year term ends on October 26. Jagdishan had decided not to seek reappointment at India’s most-valued lender.

Saha, 55, will assume office on January 1, succeeding Ashok Vaswani, who also chose not to seek a second term at the Uday Kotak-founded bank.

The ADR () of rose 5.5% during early trades following the announcement of a new chief.

The two incoming CEOs have more in common than their first name. Both are IIT alumni and former executives, with extensive experience across banking and financial services.

Bagchi spent 34 years with ICICI after joining the organisation in 1992, when it was a development finance institution. He rose through the ranks, working across retail, corporate and investment banking, treasury and other financial services businesses.

Saha worked at ICICI Bank for 14 years, between May 2003 and June 2017, before moving to . He has held senior roles across retail secured assets, business intelligence, retail and rural collections, credit cards and retail structured finance.

The decisions by Jagdishan and Vaswani not to seek fresh terms had opened up the top positions at the two banks and fuelled speculation over their successors.

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HDFC Bank had recommended deputy managing director Kaizad Bharucha as its first preference, ahead of Bagchi, who was the external candidate. However, Bharucha has been a whole-time director since June 2014 and would reach the central bank’s 15-year ceiling on continuous tenure as a whole-time director, managing director or CEO in June 2029.

Kotak Mahindra Bank had recommended Paritosh Kashyap, its whole-time director and head of wholesale banking, for the top position.

HDFC Bank has a market capitalisation of Rs 11.09 lakh crore and total deposits of Rs 31.70 lakh crore at the end of June 2026.