HDFC Bank’s board has approved the appointment of former Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar as the bank’s Part-time Chairman for a period of three years, effective from the date of approval by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The appointment fills the vacancy created after former Chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned earlier this year, citing inappropriate conduct in the governance of the bank. Veteran banker Keki Mistry has since been serving as the Interim Part-time Chairman.
Veteran bureaucrat with banking reform credentials
Rajiv Kumar, 66, is a 1984-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who served as Secretary, Department of Financial Services, from 2017 to 2020 before retiring as Finance Secretary in February 2020. Following his retirement, he also briefly served as Chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB).
Kumar is widely credited with steering India’s banking sector through one of its most challenging phases, when public sector banks were grappling with elevated non-performing assets (NPAs), capital constraints, governance issues and weak credit growth.
Led banking sector clean-up
During his tenure, Kumar spearheaded a comprehensive clean-up of public sector bank balance sheets by enforcing transparent recognition and provisioning of NPAs, strengthening recovery mechanisms under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), and improving borrower accountability.
His banking reforms were built around the government’s “4R” strategy that included Recognition, Resolution, Recapitalisation and Reforms, which helped restore the financial health of public sector banks and improve asset quality.
Kumar also oversaw the recapitalisation of public sector banks through capital infusion of more than ₹3 lakh crore and led the consolidation of 27 public sector banks into 12 larger entities. He also drove the restructuring of Regional Rural Banks into a more streamlined one state-one RRB model.
Strengthened governance and depositor protection
Kumar introduced several governance and risk management reforms aimed at improving lending discipline and curbing financial fraud.
His tenure saw enhanced monitoring of large loan accounts, technology-driven risk assessment systems, tighter oversight of cooperative banks and stricter action against wilful defaulters. Measures such as mandatory passport disclosure for borrowers seeking loans of ₹50 crore and above were introduced to strengthen accountability.
He also played a key role in enhancing deposit insurance coverage from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh, strengthening depositor protection and reinforcing confidence in the banking system.
The appointment brings to HDFC Bank a seasoned policymaker with extensive experience in banking reforms, financial regulation and institutional governance.