Keki Mistry May Get Extension As Interim Chairman Of HDFC Bank Amid Governance Review

HDFC Bank is planning to extend the tenure of Keki Mistry as interim part-time chairman of the country’s largest private sector lender while a legal review related to governance issues remains in process.

The bank board is looking to extend Mistry’s tenure by three months, according to a report by The Economic Times.

The bank’s management wants to wait for the findings of the legal review being carried out regarding governance issues in the bank’s operations.

“Senior executives and board members at HDFC Bank are understood to be in favour of maintaining continuity at the top level until the ongoing legal review is completed and its findings are discussed by the board. The view within the bank is that initiating the process for appointing a new chairman before the review concludes could be premature and may complicate governance discussions currently underway,” a bank official was quoted as saying in the report.

Mistry’s current term is ending on June 18. The bank has written to the Reserve Bank of India to seek the extension.

Mistry was appointed interim chairman in March after Atanu Chakraborty abruptly resigned from the post.

In his resignation letter, Chakraborty had cited ethical issues as the reason for stepping down from the bank.

“Certain happenings and practices within the bank that I have observed over the last two years are not in congruence with my personal values and ethics. This is the basis of my aforementioned decision,” his resignation letter read.

In view of the concerns raised by Chakraborty in his resignation letter, the bank soon appointed external law firms to review the matter.

Chakraborty had been serving as chairman of the bank since May 2021. It was during his tenure that the merger of HDFC with HDFC Bank took place in 2023.