HDFC Bank Managing Director and CEO Aditya Puri on Monday said Deputy MD Paresh Sukthankar’s decision to quit was on personal grounds and not linked to the bank’s succession plan.
“Paresh was a contender (for the post of MD and CEO). Unfortunately, he resigned. But there would also be a search as part of the selection process. This has got nothing to do with who would be the successor. These are his personal reasons, he requested he be allowed to leave,” Puri said in an analyst call on Monday.
HDFC Bank, the country’s second-largest lender, had on Friday informed the bourses that Sukthankar, a veteran banker, had tendered his resignation, which would be effective after a 90-day period.
Sources said Sukthankar is unlikely to join as the head of a competing private lender, such as Axis Bank.
“The decision, which was communicated to the Board earlier this month, took everyone by surprise,” said a person familiar with the development, adding that Sukhtankar could be planning his own venture. Puri said the bank will no longer have a Deputy MD, which was specially created for Sukthankar. The Board will work on a replacement for Sukthankar in 10-15 days, he said, adding that the sudden exit will not affect the bank’s normal functioning. “We are well capitalised; we have a good business; we don’t have strain; we have gone in for the latest technology…We have people in place.”
The Bank’s board will also begin to look for a successor to Puri, 18 months before he retires. The candidate will be selected 12 months before Puri’s departure.
“I am not the fellow choosing the successor. I will have an input but the final decision will be with the Board. We haven’t started the process,” Puri said, adding that the committee may be appointed before the end of the year or in mid-2019.
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.
The bank’s scrip fell 1.15 per cent on Monday at the Bombay Stock Exchange to close at ₹ 2,090.65 apiece.