More Stories

Informist, Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

 

MUMBAI – Brokerage firms expect shares of HDFC Bank to move in a range in the near term and even face selling pressure due to uncertainty around the top management. Investor trust has been hit after the sudden exit of Atanu Chakraborty, the bank's part-time chairman, and as there is little clarity over who will hold the top management posts in the long term.

 

Keki Mistry has been brought in to replace Chakraborty for three months, but Mistry Thursday clarified that he is not keen on continuing in the role beyond three months. There are also questions about who will take over the post of chief executive officer, currently held by Sashidhar Jagdishan, whose term ends in October--whether he will get an extension or the board will look for a replacement. The bank also needs to find a replacement for Executive Director Bhavesh Zaveri, who retires in April and does not plan to seek a reappointment.

 

"Governance uncertainty and leadership visibility gap are likely to keep the stock under pressure in the near term," brokerage Nomura said in a report. Chakraborty's comments in his resignation letter that certain practices at the bank were not in line with his "values and ethics" has raised concerns about governance issues at the bank.

 

The management Thursday called a press conference, analyst call, and spoke to several media firms to calm investors. They said there was no problem at the bank and hinted that Chakraborty's exit might be due to differences with other members of the management.

 

However, investors are not fully convinced as shares of HDFC Bank fell for the second straight session Friday. The stock has fallen more than 7% in two sessions. At 1349 IST, the stock was down nearly 2% at INR 783.65 on the National Stock Exchange.

 

Analysts said attrition has been a major problem for the bank after the reverse merger of parent Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd. "...exits at HDFCB have accelerated post the HDFC Ltd merger (Exhibit 1 – eg Rahul Shukla, Arvind Kapil and so on), creating a visible credible leadership gap, with Chairman Atanu Chakraborty's resignation over relationship issues with the management now raising concerns even in the board," Emkay Global Financial Services said in a report.

 

Questions about the real reason for Chakraborty's exit remain. Clarity on who will hold the chairman's post in the long term and other key board positions is important for the stock's performance, analysts said. "The upcoming MD & CEO's renewal in a few months' time may also put pressure on stock price performance," JM Financial Institutional Securities said in a report.

 

While brokerages expect pain in the short term for HDFC Bank, they have largely retained their bullish view on the stock in the long term. "...remain positive on HDFC Bank for the long term due to its best-in-class asset quality, growth potential because of good capital position and expanding deposit franchise, potential for margin improvement and merger synergies in the long term," Nirmal Bang Equities said in a report.

 

Nomura, Nirmal Bang, Emkay Global, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, and ICICI Securities have maintained their 'buy' recommendation on the stock with the target prices ranging from INR 1,080 to INR 1,225. This implies the stock can rise 40-60% from current levels.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Anshul Choudhary

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.