HDFC Bank Managing Director and CEO Aditya Puri on Monday said the decision of Deputy Managing Director Paresh Sukthankar to resign was personal and was not linked to the bank’s succession plan.
“This has got nothing to do with who will be the successor. These are his personal reasons. He requested that he be allowed to leave,” Puri said in a conference-call on Monday.
HDFC Bank, which is the country’s second largest lender, had on Friday informed the bourses that veteran banker and its Deputy Managing Director Sukthankar had tendered his resignation, which would be effective after a 90-day period.
“There will no longer be a deputy MD’s post at HDFC Bank,” Puri said, adding that the process of selecting the next MD will start 18 months before his retirement.
The board will decide on a replacement for Sukthankar in the next 10 to 15 days, he further said. Puri is likely to retire by October 2020. The lender plans to finalise a replacement for him by October next year, so that he can work alongside him for a year.
Puri stressed that the lender is well capitalised and is not dependent on any individual, including him. The bank’s scrip fell 1.32 per cent on Monday at the Bombay Stock Exchange and is trading at Rs 2,087 apiece.