Mumbai: Anup Bagchi, a veteran of the ICICI Group with more than three decades of experience across banking, capital markets and insurance, is set to become the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Bank.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved Bagchi’s appointment for a three-year term beginning October 27. HDFC Bank’s board has also appointed him as an additional director from October 2, subject to shareholder approval.
Bagchi will succeed Sashidhar Jagdishan, whose current term as HDFC Bank’s MD and CEO ends on October 26. Jagdishan has decided not to seek another term, bringing a leadership transition to India’s largest private-sector bank.
Bagchi’s appointment is notable because he has spent most of his career with ICICI, HDFC Bank’s biggest private-sector banking rival. His career has taken him through retail banking, corporate banking, treasury, investment banking, capital markets, digital financial services and insurance.
From IIT Kanpur to the ICICI Group
Bagchi began his career with a strong academic background in engineering and management.
He completed a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, in 1990. He subsequently earned a management degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Bagchi joined the ICICI Group in 1992 and went on to build a career spanning several areas of financial services.
Over the following three decades, he held responsibilities covering treasury, retail banking, corporate banking, transaction banking, capital markets and digital financial services.
The breadth of those roles has given Bagchi exposure to both the traditional banking business and newer areas of financial services, including technology-led banking and investment products.
He eventually became Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Securities before moving into senior leadership at ICICI Bank.
Bagchi’s experience at ICICI Bank
Bagchi served as an Executive Director at ICICI Bank from 2017 to 2023.
His responsibilities initially included retail banking, business banking and rural banking before he moved to oversee wholesale banking.
During his tenure, he was involved in areas including credit policy, markets, data analytics and technology-driven financial services.
According to HDFC Bank’s profile of Bagchi, the retail mortgage portfolio at ICICI Bank crossed Rs 2 trillion during his tenure, making it the first private-sector bank in India to reach that level.
His experience covered not only loan growth but also areas such as risk management, credit discipline, operating efficiency and technology.
That combination is relevant to HDFC Bank as it prepares for a leadership transition in a banking environment where growth, asset quality, digital services and operating efficiency remain closely linked.
Bagchi’s time at ICICI Bank also gave him experience managing businesses across both retail and wholesale banking, rather than limiting his career to a single banking segment.
From banking to life insurance
Bagchi’s career later expanded beyond banking.
He served as chairman of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company until May 2023. He also held directorships at ICICI Prudential Pension Funds Management Company and ICICI Home Finance.
In June 2023, he moved to ICICI Prudential Life Insurance as its Managing Director and CEO.
The move gave him responsibility for a business operating in a different segment of financial services, with a focus on life insurance, distribution and long-term savings products.
His tenure at ICICI Prudential Life also coincided with a period of growth for the insurer.
During FY2025, the company’s Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) crossed Rs 10,000 crore for the first time. APE rose 15 per cent year-on-year to Rs 10,407 crore, while profit after tax increased by nearly 40 per cent to Rs 1,189 crore.
The experience means Bagchi is coming to HDFC Bank with exposure not only to lending and deposits but also to insurance, asset management, pensions and other financial products.
Three decades across financial services
Bagchi’s professional journey covers several major areas of India’s financial sector.
His early career included treasury and capital markets, while subsequent roles gave him experience in retail, rural, business and corporate banking.
He later moved into senior management at ICICI Securities and ICICI Bank before taking charge of ICICI Prudential Life.
This has given him experience across businesses with different revenue models and regulatory requirements.
His background also includes exposure to digital financial services and technology-led banking, areas that have become increasingly important as banks expand mobile and online services.
At HDFC Bank, this experience will be applied to a much larger banking franchise, with operations spanning retail customers, businesses, large companies and digital channels.
Why his appointment is significant for HDFC Bank
Bagchi’s appointment marks a change in leadership after Jagdishan decided not to seek another term.
Jagdishan has led HDFC Bank since the merger of HDFC Ltd with HDFC Bank in 2023, after previously serving as the bank’s Chief Financial Officer and then CEO.
Bagchi will therefore take over after a period in which HDFC Bank has been integrating the mortgage lender into its banking operations while managing growth across its existing businesses.
Unlike Jagdishan, Bagchi does not come from an executive career within HDFC Bank. His professional background is instead rooted primarily in the ICICI Group.
That makes his appointment a significant leadership transition between two executives with extensive experience in India’s private-sector financial services industry but different institutional backgrounds.
Bagchi will lead HDFC Bank for three years
The RBI has approved Bagchi’s appointment for a three-year period beginning October 27.
HDFC Bank’s board appointed him as an additional director with effect from October 2, subject to shareholder approval.
His formal appointment as MD and CEO will follow the end of Jagdishan’s current term on October 26.
The transition gives the bank a defined leadership succession timeline, with Bagchi already joining the board before formally taking charge as chief executive.
His responsibilities will include overseeing one of India’s largest banking franchises at a time when the sector is dealing with changing customer behaviour, rapid digitalisation, competition for deposits and evolving credit demand.
What Bagchi brings to the top job
Bagchi enters HDFC Bank after more than 30 years in financial services.
His career includes experience in retail and wholesale banking, corporate and transaction banking, treasury, capital markets, digital financial services and life insurance.
His time at ICICI Bank gave him experience in managing large banking businesses, while his leadership at ICICI Prudential Life added exposure to insurance and long-term financial products.
He has also worked across credit, technology, data analytics and distribution.
For HDFC Bank, his appointment represents the arrival of an executive whose professional background has been built largely outside the institution.
The immediate focus will be on the leadership transition and continuity of the bank’s operations after Jagdishan’s departure.
Bagchi will formally assume charge on October 27, beginning his three-year term as HDFC Bank’s new MD and CEO, subject to the required shareholder approval.