The last chair

Six years after taking over from a legend, Sashidhar Jagdishan chose not to seek a third term. As this dossier was published, his successor's name sat with the Reserve Bank of India - and the two men on the shortlist embodied the bank's own question: continuity, or a reset?

The exit that wasn't planned

On 31 August 2026, it emerged that Jagdishan had decided not to seek re-appointment; his second three-year term ends on 26 October 2026. Moody's called it a "leadership transition risk" precisely because the succession was not previously anticipated, while noting the bank's strong franchise and deep bench as mitigants, per The Hindu.

The brokerages were blunter. Nuvama: recent lapses and governance scrutiny likely made an RBI extension beyond October 2026 difficult, and the resignation "seen as a cleaner, more dignified exit". Bernstein: it "rules out the more feared scenario of a short, RBI-restricted term". Citi called deputy MD Kaizad Bharucha the natural internal candidate; IIFL noted his 15-year whole-time-director ceiling would cap him at one term, arguing "a credible external candidate can provide a clean leadership reset and a longer runway". Jefferies' external list: Anup Bagchi (CEO, ICICI Prudential Life), Paresh Sukthankar (former HDFC Bank DMD), Vibha Padalkar (CEO, HDFC Life), Rajiv Sabharwal (CEO, Tata Capital) and Amitabh Chaudhry (CEO, Axis Bank).

Two names to Mumbai

On 12 September 2026, the board approved and forwarded two names, in order of preference, with proposed remuneration, to the RBI for a three-year term, per The Hindu and the bank's exchange filing via Mint. The filing did not name them; CNBC-TV18 first reported the two as Bharucha and Anup Bagchi, the ICICI group veteran of three decades who has run ICICI Prudential Life since 2023. Moneycontrol reported Bagchi is the frontrunner and the board's first preference, per Business Today. The RBI reportedly sought feedback on Bagchi from insurance regulator IRDAI and ICICI Bank CEO Sandeep Bakhshi, per Kotak Neo's news desk.

The regulator is fast-tracking: a decision was expected within a week to ten days of 24 September, ahead of the bank's 17 October results, and the RBI would rather not have an interim CEO at India's largest private bank, per Business Today.

The board, rearranged

Alongside the search, the board approved Jimmy Tata - the chief credit officer - as executive director for three years subject to RBI approval, reappointed V Srinivasa Rangan for one year from November 2026, and created a fourth whole-time director slot "to have larger pipeline for succession planning", per the filings.