“The said law firms have been advised to provide their report on the same within a reasonable period of time,” the bank said in the filing. (Source: File)
Six days after HDFC Bank part-time Chairman and Independent Director Atanu Chakraborty resigned citing “personal values and ethics”, HDFC Bank on Tuesday announced that the board of directors has appointed external law firms — domestic and international — to review the points highlighted by Chakraborty in his resignation letter.
An exchange filing from the bank, however, did not reveal the names of the domestic and international law firms.
“The said law firms have been advised to provide their report on the same within a reasonable period of time,” the bank said in the filing.
The filing hastened to add, “we wish to inform you that Chakraborty did not mention any happenings and practices which were not in congruence with his personal values and ethics.”
“To reinforce the robust governance standards of the bank, the board of directors of the bank at its meeting held on March 23 took a proactive step and approved the appointment of external law firms (domestic and international) to conduct review regarding Chakraborty’s resignation letter,” the bank said.
On March 18, Chakraborty said he had resigned with immediate effect, saying that “certain happenings and practices within the bank are not in congruence with my personal values and ethics”. However, he did not give any details or a specific case that led to his resignation.
A day later, the bank’s new Interim Chairman Keki Mistry said there has been no power struggle within the bank and there has been no discussion with regards to governance within the board of directors.
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Stating that the board is united, Mistry said the board had not witnessed “any kind of complete difference in opinion” in its meetings. “And as far as our seeking some explanation from Chakraborty, the board will of course meet very, very soon and take a call on how to deal with the problem,” Mistry had said.
On March 20, HDFC Bank said it took action against three executives — including Sampath Kumar, group head of branch banking, Harsh Gupta, executive vice president, Middle East, Africa, and NRI onshore business, and Payal Mandhyan, senior vice president — for their alleged involvement in mis-selling of Credit Suisse AT-1 bonds.
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