HDFC Bank elevates Bharucha as Deputy MD, appoints Zaveri as ED

Decision comes ahead of merger; RBI had halted move ahead of Aditya Puri's retirement

HDFC Bank, the largest private-sector lender in the country, has decided to elevate Kaizad Bharucha as deputy managing director and appoint Bhavesh Zaveri to the board as whole-time executive director.

The appointments await approval by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The move comes ahead of the merger of HDFC and HDFC Bank, which is likely by April next year.

Bharucha is executive director (and a whole-time board member) of the bank and looks after corporate loans while Zaveri is group head (operations and ATM products).

The last deputy managing director was Paresh Sukthankar, who resigned in August 2018.

Earlier in April 2020, the RBI had asked the bank to hold the proposal to induct Sashidhar Jagdishan and Zaveri as additional director and executive director (whole-time director), respectively, till a new chief executive officer (CEO) was appointed. Then managing director Aditya Puri’s term was ending in October 2020. Jagdishan became managing director and CEO after Puri’s retirement.

Bharucha and Zaveri have been appointed for three years from “such date or such other period” as may be approved by the RBI, and subsequently by the shareholders of the bank, the lender said in a notification to the exchanges.

Zaveri will be the third from the senior management team of HDFC Bank to be on the board. The other two are Jagdishan and Bharucha.

Zaveri joined HDFC Bank in 1998. Bharucha, who was the highest-paid banker in 2021-22, has been associated with HDFC Bank since 1995.