HDFC Bank shares plunged over 10% in four consecutive trading sessions, leading to a significant drop in the bank’s market capitalisation. The stock fell to an intraday low of ₹756.30 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), with the market value of the bank being reduced by ₹1.34 lakh crore to ₹11.63 lakh crore. The decline followed reports that the bank had asked three senior executives to resign over alleged involvement in the mis-selling of Credit Suisse’s Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds. The affected executives included Sampath Kumar, group head of branch banking; Harsh Gupta, executive vice president for Middle East, Africa, and NRI onshore business; and Payal Mandhyan, senior vice president. According to reports, HDFC Bank is investigating claims that its employees, particularly in its Dubai branch, mis-sold high-risk AT1 bonds. The development coincided with the abrupt resignation of the bank’s non-executive chairman, Atanu Chakraborty, who cited differences over “values and ethics” as the reason for his exit. Keki Mistry, a veteran from the HDFC Bank Group, was appointed interim chairman following Chakraborty’s resignation. Mistry stated that while there were “relationship issues” between Chakraborty and the executive leadership, there were no “substantive” concerns regarding the bank’s operations or governance. This marked the first time the part-time chairman of HDFC Bank left midway, raising questions about the bank’s internal stability. AT1 bonds are perpetual, high-yield debt instruments issued by banks to strengthen their Tier 1 capital in compliance with Basel III regulations. These bonds have no fixed maturity date, meaning investors may not recover their principal on a set timeline. However, banks often include call options to redeem the bonds after a specified period.#hdfc_bank #atanu_chakraborty #sampath_kumar #harsh_gupta #payal_mandhyan
