Sashidhar Jagdishan

Sashidhar Jagdishan
Born	Template:Birth year and age
Birthplace	Mumbai, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Banker
Title	Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Employer	HDFC Bank
Known for	Managing Director and CEO of HDFC Bank

Sashidhar Jagdishan (born 1965) is an Indian banker who serves as the managing director and chief executive officer of HDFC Bank, one of India's largest private sector banks by market capitalization. A career HDFC Bank insider, Jagdishan joined the institution in 1996 as a manager in the finance division and rose through its ranks over more than two decades before being appointed to the top role in 2020, succeeding Aditya Puri, the bank's longest-serving chief executive. His appointment was approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and he formally took charge of the bank's operations at a time when HDFC Bank was navigating the economic uncertainties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership, HDFC Bank undertook the landmark merger with its parent entity, HDFC Ltd, one of the largest corporate mergers in Indian financial history. Jagdishan was recognized as India's highest-paid banker for the financial year 2024–25, with his total compensation exceeding ₹12 crore. In mid-2025, Jagdishan became the subject of public attention after an FIR was registered against him in connection with allegations of financial fraud brought by the Mehta family relating to the Lilavati Trust, claims that HDFC Bank has categorically denied.

Early Life

Sashidhar Jagdishan was born in 1965 in Mumbai, India. He grew up in Mumbai, which would also become the city where he built his entire professional career. Details about his family background and upbringing have not been extensively documented in public sources. Mumbai's status as the financial capital of India provided the backdrop for Jagdishan's eventual entry into the banking industry, where he would spend the entirety of his professional life at a single institution.

Education

Jagdishan completed his undergraduate education at the University of Mumbai, where he earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. He subsequently pursued postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom, obtaining a Master of Science (MSc) degree from the University of Sheffield. His academic background in the sciences, rather than in a traditional business or finance discipline, distinguished him from many of his contemporaries in the Indian banking sector. The combination of a domestic undergraduate foundation and an international postgraduate qualification equipped Jagdishan with a perspective that he later applied during his long tenure in HDFC Bank's finance and operations divisions.

Career

Early Career at HDFC Bank (1996–2008)

Jagdishan joined HDFC Bank in 1996 as a manager in the finance division. At the time, HDFC Bank was still a relatively young institution, having been incorporated in 1994 and commenced operations in early 1995 under the leadership of its founding CEO, Aditya Puri. Jagdishan's entry into the bank during this formative period placed him among a cadre of early employees who would help shape the institution's growth trajectory over the following decades. He rose through the ranks within the finance function, gaining extensive experience in the bank's financial planning, reporting, and regulatory compliance operations.

Senior Leadership Roles (2008–2020)

Over the course of more than two decades at HDFC Bank, Jagdishan progressed through multiple senior management positions. He served as the bank's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), a role that gave him oversight of the institution's financial strategy, capital allocation, and regulatory submissions. His responsibilities expanded over time to include oversight of the bank's human resources, legal and secretarial functions, and administration, making him one of the most broadly experienced members of the senior management team.

Jagdishan's long tenure and cross-functional experience within the bank made him a strong internal candidate for the top position as Aditya Puri's retirement approached. Puri had led HDFC Bank for 26 years, transforming it from a small private sector bank into one of the most valuable financial institutions in India. The succession process attracted significant attention from investors, analysts, and the media, with several internal and external candidates being discussed as potential successors.

Appointment as Managing Director and CEO (2020)

The Reserve Bank of India approved Sashidhar Jagdishan's appointment as the managing director and chief executive officer of HDFC Bank in 2020. He succeeded Aditya Puri, who had served as the bank's CEO since its inception and was the longest-serving CEO in Indian banking history at the time of his retirement. Jagdishan's appointment was viewed as a continuity choice, given his nearly quarter-century of service at the bank and his deep familiarity with its operations, culture, and strategic direction.

Taking charge during a period marked by the economic disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jagdishan faced the immediate challenge of maintaining the bank's asset quality and operational stability amid a nationwide economic slowdown. The banking sector in India was navigating elevated levels of stress in loan portfolios, and regulatory scrutiny of digital operations had intensified following technology-related outages that affected several banks, including HDFC Bank.

HDFC Ltd–HDFC Bank Merger

One of the most consequential developments during Jagdishan's tenure as CEO was the merger of HDFC Ltd, the bank's parent housing finance company, with HDFC Bank. The merger, first announced in April 2022, was one of the largest corporate transactions in Indian history and was completed in July 2023. The merger brought HDFC Ltd's substantial mortgage lending portfolio onto HDFC Bank's balance sheet, significantly increasing the bank's total assets and loan book. It also brought about a structural shift in the bank's liability profile, as the merged entity needed to raise a larger volume of deposits to comply with banking sector regulatory requirements that did not apply to HDFC Ltd as a housing finance company.

Under Jagdishan's stewardship, the bank undertook the complex integration of the two entities, which involved harmonizing technology platforms, operational processes, employee structures, and customer-facing products. The merger was expected to provide HDFC Bank with a strengthened presence in the housing loan segment and to yield cost synergies over time. Jagdishan publicly outlined plans for the post-merger entity, focusing on deposit mobilization, branch expansion, and leveraging the combined entity's scale to drive growth across retail and corporate lending segments.

Compensation

For the financial year 2024–25 (FY25), Sashidhar Jagdishan was recognized as India's highest-paid banker, with his total compensation exceeding ₹12 crore. This placed him ahead of other prominent banking executives in the country, including Amitabh Chaudhry of Axis Bank and other peers in the private banking sector. His compensation reflected both the scale of HDFC Bank—the largest private sector bank in India by market capitalization—and the complexity of managing the post-merger integration of HDFC Ltd and HDFC Bank.

Lilavati Trust Fraud Allegations (2025)

In June 2025, an FIR (First Information Report) was registered against Jagdishan and other individuals in connection with allegations of financial fraud brought by the Mehta family, which is associated with the Lilavati Trust in Mumbai. The allegations were linked to a bank loan that had been provided to the Mehta family in 1995—a year before Jagdishan joined HDFC Bank—on which the family had subsequently defaulted. The FIR included charges of cheating and fraud.

HDFC Bank issued a public statement categorically denying the allegations, stating that Jagdishan was being "falsely targeted by unscrupulous individuals." The bank emphasized that the loan in question predated Jagdishan's association with the institution and that the allegations were without merit.

Jagdishan subsequently filed a plea before the Supreme Court of India seeking to challenge the FIR. On July 4, 2025, the Supreme Court refused to entertain his plea, declining to quash the FIR registered against him in connection with the Lilavati Trust matter. The case remained a subject of legal proceedings as of mid-2025. The matter drew significant media attention given Jagdishan's position as the head of one of India's most prominent financial institutions, though the bank maintained that the allegations were part of a broader dispute involving the defaulting borrowers and did not reflect any wrongdoing on the part of its CEO.

Recognition

Sashidhar Jagdishan's leadership at HDFC Bank has been the subject of recognition by industry organizations. The Asian Banker, an international financial services research and benchmarking organization, recognized Jagdishan's strategic leadership at HDFC Bank in the Asia-Pacific region. The recognition cited the bank's performance and the execution of its strategic initiatives, including the HDFC Ltd merger, under Jagdishan's tenure as CEO.

His designation as India's highest-paid banker for FY25 was also noted across major financial media outlets, reflecting both the market's assessment of his role and the bank's board's confidence in his leadership during a period of transformative change for the institution.

Jagdishan's career trajectory—from a manager in the finance division to the CEO of what became India's largest private sector bank by several measures—has been profiled by multiple Indian business media organizations. His long association with a single institution, spanning nearly three decades, has been noted as relatively uncommon among top banking executives in India, many of whom have moved between institutions over the course of their careers.

Legacy

As of mid-2025, Sashidhar Jagdishan's legacy at HDFC Bank continues to be shaped by ongoing developments, including the post-merger integration of HDFC Ltd and the resolution of the Lilavati Trust legal matter. His tenure as CEO has been defined primarily by two major undertakings: navigating the bank through the economic disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic in his first years in office, and executing the merger with HDFC Ltd, which fundamentally altered the bank's scale and business profile.

The HDFC Ltd merger, in particular, represented one of the most complex integration exercises in Indian banking history. The combined entity's ability to achieve the operational efficiencies and growth targets outlined during the merger announcement period will be a significant factor in assessments of Jagdishan's leadership. The bank's deposit growth strategy, branch network expansion, and the integration of housing finance products into its retail banking offering are among the key metrics by which his strategic direction is being evaluated by analysts and investors.

Jagdishan's path from a mid-level manager in the finance division to the CEO of one of India's most prominent banks over a 24-year period within the same institution underscores a model of internal succession and deep institutional knowledge. His appointment represented the bank's board decision to prioritize continuity and institutional familiarity over external recruitment at a critical juncture in the bank's history.

The legal proceedings related to the Lilavati Trust FIR, which were ongoing as of July 2025, introduced an element of uncertainty during his tenure, although HDFC Bank maintained that the allegations were meritless and that Jagdishan had been improperly targeted.