HDFC Bank

Rewrites throughout

By Surbhi Misra and Gopika Gopakumar

Sept 15 (Reuters) - HDFC Bank HDBK.NS rose as much as 3.2% on Tuesday, in the biggest percentage gain in over four months, after India's largest private lender moved ahead with its CEO succession process, submitting two names to the central bank.

HDFC Bank shared the update on Saturday without disclosing the candidates, as it looks to replace CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan, who will step down when his term ends in late October.

Reuters reported last month that HDFC Bank Deputy Managing Director Kaizad Bharucha was likely to be one of the two candidates, with the bank also considering an external candidate. CNBC-TV18 reported on Sunday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that ICICI Prudential Life Insurance CEO Anup Bagchi was the external name being considered.

HDFC Bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. Bagchi and Bharucha did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

CEO succession has been a key investor concern for HDFC Bank since Jagdishan announced on August 29 that he would step down. Brokerages say that clarity on leadership would abate investor worries, facilitating a stock re-rating.

HDFC Bank shares, which were about 40% ⁠foreign-owned at June-end, have fallen 27.2% this year. The decline accelerated after former chairman Atanu Chakraborty left, citing governance concerns, though a subsequent external review found no evidence substantiating the issues raised.

INSIDER OR OUTSIDER?

Jefferies analysts said Bharucha would be a simpler choice for the bank, given his experience in leading the corporate, business banking and retail asset businesses. They say this could prepare the bank for a smoother transition for the longer-term.

The brokerage report added that investors will be wary if any former state-owned bank executive is appointed to the post and maintained its "buy" rating with an 880-rupee price target.

Analysts at Nomura took the view that an internal appointment could ensure continuity and limit disruption, while a strong external candidate could offer a strategic reset and support a sustained re-rating, particularly with a clear roadmap on growth, deposits, margins and returns.

The brokerage maintained its "buy" rating and 950-rupee price target.

Macquarie Research on the other hand, suggests an external candidate for the MD & CEO would bring a fresh perspective and clean mandate, resulting in a re-rating of the stock.

HDFC Bank shares were up 1.84% at 721.15 rupees apiece as of 11:59 am IST.

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra and Gopika Gopakumar; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)

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HDFC Bank’s board approved submitting two preferred candidates to the Reserve Bank of India for appointment as managing director and chief executive for three years, subject to approval. It approved the reappointment of V. Srinivasa Rangan as an executive director from November 23, 2026, and the appointment of Jimmy Tata as an executive director for three years from RBI approval. The bank also created a fourth whole-time-director position to strengthen oversight and succession planning across its subsidiaries. HDFC Bank’s current chief executive was due to leave on October 26, 2026.

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Sept 12 (Reuters) - India's largest private lender HDFC Bank has submitted the names of two candidates to the Reserve Bank of India for the position of managing director and chief executive officer, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing an exchange filing.

(Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru. Editing by Mark Potter)

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** Shares of India's HDFC BANK HDBK.NS fall 3.95% to 684 rupees this week, extending losses for sixth consecutive week

** Stock falls 1.38% on Friday, second-biggest loser on Nifty Private Bank index .NIFPVTBNK, which is down 0.2%

** Investors await clarity on succession at India's largest private lender after CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan said on August 29 he would step down when his term ends on October 26

** Bank said it would fast-track selection of successor; no replacement has yet been announced

** Broader Indian equities slip on escalating Middle East tensions and higher crude prices

** HDFC Bank down 31% YTD, compared with a 5.1% decline in Nifty Private Bank index

(Reporting by Anushka Rajvedi in Bengaluru)

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MUMBAI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - India's HDB Financial Services HDBF.NS has accepted bids worth 20 billion rupees ($210.86 million) for the reissue of 8.05% August 8, 2029 bonds, three merchant bankers said on Tuesday.

The issuer will offer a yield of 7.9606% and had invited bids from bankers and investors earlier in the day, they said.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on September 8:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 94.8500 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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-- Source link: https://tinyurl.com/3eke4c4v

-- Note: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy

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HDFC Bank's managing director and chief executive, Sashidhar Jagdishan, said he would not seek reappointment and was due to retire at the close of business on October 26, 2026. The board recorded his decision after he reiterated it despite persuasion and said it would fast-track the selection of a successor. Rajiv Kumar became the bank's RBI-approved part-time chairman in July 2026. HDFC Bank reported standalone net revenue of ₹463.6 billion and net profit of ₹190.6 billion for the June quarter, with a capital adequacy ratio of 19.6%.

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Aug 29 (Reuters) - HDFC Bank Limited HDBK.NS:

• HDFC BANK - SASHIDHAR JAGDISHAN DECIDES NOT TO SEEK RE-APPOINTMENT AS MD&CEO OF HDFC BANK

• HDFC BANK - SASHIDHAR JAGDISHAN TO RETIRE FROM HDFC BANK ON OCTOBER 26, 2026

• HDFC BANK - TO FAST-TRACK SELECTION AND APPOINTMENT OF MD&CEO SUCCESSOR

Source text: ID:nBSE8zv4jS

Further company coverage: HDBK.NS

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By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

Aug 27 (Reuters) - Shares of HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, India's top private lender, fell for a third straight session on Thursday, dragging the country's benchmark stock index amid concerns over legal, regulatory and leadership challenges.

The shares slipped as much as 2.37% to 710 rupees, a 29-month low, extending their year-to-date decline to about 28%, on course for their worst annual drop since 2008.

HDFC Bank is the heaviest-weighted stock on the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI, which has fallen 7.6% this year.

The lender is facing a possible U.S. class-action lawsuit over alleged illegal payments worth 450 million rupees ($4.7 million) to Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to induce large deposits.

On August 13, Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter and the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, filed a proposed federal securities class action in a U.S. District Court against HDFC Bank and two of its executives over the alleged illegal payments. Several other law firms have also issued alerts to HDFC Bank investors regarding the proposed class action.

"The U.S. class-action lawsuit has emerged as a near-term overhang, denting sentiment and tempering investor optimism despite the stock's attractive valuations," said Aishvarya Dadheech, founder and chief investment officer at Fident Asset Management.

"The Street is likely to remain cautious until further details emerge."

An HDFC Bank spokesperson told Reuters that the bank "believes the lawsuit is without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself."

"In the United States, these types of shareholder lawsuits are incredibly common after a company experiences a stock drop, and many companies listed in the U.S. routinely defend these lawsuits each year," the spokesperson said.

Earlier this week, Mint newspaper reported, citing investors, that more than 75 clients who bought Carlisle's Luxembourg Life Fund through HDFC Bank's Dubai operations were planning to approach the Indian Prime Minister's Office, the central bank and overseas regulators over alleged mis-selling, losses and delayed redemptions.

HDFC Bank told Reuters it does not provide any advice in relation to third party products and that it was ultimately for the customers to make their own informed decisions.

The lender's shares had slid in March after its part-time chair abruptly resigned citing ethical differences with management.

Uncertainty over chief executive Sashidhar Jagdishan's tenure also remains an overhang for the stock, traders said. Jagdishan's term ends on October 26.

A temporary extension would prolong succession concerns and could pressure the stock further, while a three-year renewal would remove a key uncertainty, Macquarie said.

The bank did not respond to a query on the CEO reappointment.

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - HDFC Bank HDBK.NS raised $1.75 billion through a dual-tranche dollar bond sale, the largest one-shot debt fundraising by an Indian bank, three merchant bankers said on Friday, as banks scramble to take advantage of a concessional window from the central bank.

India's largest private lender on Thursday raised $1.25 billion through the sale of five-year papers, equivalent to the largest single-tranche issuance, and $500 million through three-year papers via its GIFT City branch, it said in a notice to stock exchanges.

Having raised an aggregate $2.50 billion, HDFC has now topped the chart of banks that have raised money through dollar bond sales since June, when the Reserve Bank of India facility was opened. ICICI Bank ICBK.NS came in second with $2.05 billion.

The issues attracted bids of about $7 billion of orders, which was far higher than what the bank expected, encouraging it to accept a larger amount, said a banker.

The three-year papers were priced at 88 basis points over comparable U.S. Treasuries, while the five-year papers were 100 bps over. Both were tighter than the initial guidance of 120 bps and 130 bps, respectively, showing strong investor demand.

The spread was, however, higher than the 90 bps HDFC paid for a five-year issue for $750 million in June.

The bankers who spoke to Reuters for this story requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

Market intelligence firm CreditSights, which has an "outperform" rating on HDFC, had expected the final pricing at a spread of 95 bps and 105 bps for the three-year and five-year papers. It, however, sees the fair value at a spread of 82 bps and 92 bps.

In the last few days, banks have been scrambling to complete their dollar issuances, with most funds being used to provide leverage to customers who will be depositing funds under the discounted dollar deposit scheme.

The RBI last week said that the window provided to banks for hedging non-resident deposits would end a month early on August 31. The central bank expects close to $80 billion in inflows through these schemes.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; additional reporting by Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Aug 20 (Reuters) - India's largest private lender, HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, is tapping the dollar bond market for the second time in two months, as banks scramble to close overseas fundraising before a special central bank FX swap window closes.

The Mumbai-based lender plans to raise at least $500 million each through three-year and five-year bonds via its GIFT City branch, the bankers said, requesting anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media.

"Investor calls have been lined up, and the final pricing for the issue should be completed by Friday," one of the bankers said.

"Since this would be the last issue before the end of August, we will not be surprised if the final quantum easily surpasses $1 billion."

HDFC Bank did not reply to a Reuters query seeking comment.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India decided to prematurely close a discounted swap facility provided to banks for hedging non-resident deposits. The central bank expects close to $80 billion in inflows via subsidised swap facilities opened in June, central bank governor Sanjay Malhotra told the Financial Express newspaper.

HDFC Bank's peer ICICI Bank ICBK.NS has also targeted investors based in the United States for its dollar bonds issued over the last few weeks.

If completed, the latest bond sale would take HDFC Bank's total proceeds from such issues to $1.75 billion, the most after ICICI Bank.

Another private lender, IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS, has raised $600 million through its debut dollar debt sale with three-year maturity through a private placement, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Indian lenders have so far raised $7.55 billion via dollar bonds since the concessional hedging facility was announced on June 5. The swap window will close on August 31, a month before the initial deadline of September end.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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The Reserve Bank of India approved Life Insurance Corporation of India's application to acquire an aggregate holding of up to 9.99% in HDFC Bank. LIC held 4.11% of the bank's paid-up share capital as of 14 August 2026. The approval was subject to banking, foreign-exchange, securities-market and other applicable regulatory requirements. HDFC Bank reported deposits of ₹31,708bn and gross advances of ₹30,608bn in the first quarter of FY27.

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By Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Indian lenders are rushing dollar loan and bond issues over the next two weeks after the central bank unexpectedly advanced the end date for an FX swap facility that banks were using for hedging exposure to deposits raised from diaspora.

As part of a raft of measures to boost inflows, lenders were permitted to use these overseas borrowings to offer loans to non-resident Indians. Banks' overseas fundraising had also been subsidised.

Now, with the Reserve Bank of India announcing the closure of the forex swap window for August 31, a month earlier than initially planned, Indian private and state-run banks are on track to raise at least $5 billion through a combination of bonds and loans, four bankers said.

"Some of the fund raising plans have been brought forward to utilize the last few days," Akshay Naik, India head of debt capital markets at Citi, said.

"We will have one of the busiest windows for the next 6-8 days from India. Few institutions who are not ready may need to drop their plan if it was solely meant for FCNR leverage."

Large private-sector lenders such as ICICI Bank ICBK.NS and HDFC Bank HDBK.NS are in talks to raise about $1.5 billion each via dollar bonds and loans, while peers including Axis Bank AXBK.NS, YES Bank YESB.NS, RBL Bank RATB.NS and Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS are planning to raise at least $500 million each through overseas debt markets, bankers said.

State-run lenders State Bank of India SBI.NS, Bank of Baroda BOB.NS, Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS, Canara Bank CNBK.NS, Union Bank of India UNBK.NS, Bank of India BOI.NS and Central Bank of India CBI.NS are targeting dollar raises of $250 million to $500 million each, with the larger banks likely to target bigger issues, the bankers said.

None of the lenders replied to Reuters emails seeking comment.

All the bankers declined to be named as the discussions are private.

BANKS ON TRACK FOR RECORD DOLLAR FUNDRAISING

Indian lenders have raised a combined $5.93 billion through dollar bond sales and loans so far this year, according to LSEG data through August 11.

The tally has climbed by another $1.2 billion, following debt sales by two large state-run lenders last week.

Over the last 15 years, banks' annual foreign borrowing topped $6 billion on three occasions, including in 2013, when the RBI had opened a swap window.

"Would expect $5-7 billion of additional bond and loan issuances for the remainder of year," Naik said.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Aug 12 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS, the country's largest lender, drew strong demand in its return to the public dollar bond market after nearly a year, with pricing tightening sharply from initial guidance, three merchant bankers said on Wednesday.

SBI raised $500 million through a five-year dollar bond issued via its London branch, the lender said in a stock exchange filing late on Tuesday.

These bonds will be priced at a spread of 88 basis points over U.S. Treasuries, sharply below initial guidance of 120 bps. The notes carry a coupon of 5.25%, payable semi-annually.

The final spread was broadly in line with CreditSights' expectation of 90 basis points, although the research firm expects it to tighten further to around 80 basis points in the secondary market.

Spreads on dollar bonds issued by Indian borrowers have widened in recent weeks on expectations of heavy supply following the Reserve Bank of India's swap concession window, while demand has been tempered by attractive rates on foreign-currency deposits.

"As we had anticipated, some of this spread premium has begun to fade as supply is absorbed... We have an outperform recommendation on SBI," CreditSights analysts said in a note.

The lender witnessed tightest pricing, after ICICI Bank sold notes at 100 bps, while HDFC Bank sold notes at a spread of 90 bps over Treasuries.

SBI had planned to raise $1 billion through a public dollar bond issue in June, but deferred the sale due to higher borrowing costs following heavy issuance by Indian lenders.

The bank subsequently raised $600 million through a private placement of three-year dollar bonds at a spread of 100 basis points over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).

The issue comes at a time when Indian banks are making a beeline for dollar issues after the RBI's swap facility announced in June made overseas borrowing cheaper.

Large private lenders, including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank have raised funds through dollar bonds in June and July.

Meanwhile, bankers expect SBI to tap the market again in a few weeks for raising dollars, as the board has approved raising of up to $2 billion through bonds sold in dollar or any other major currency in this financial year.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - That Indian banks would sport higher book value multiples than their Western peers used to be almost as reliable as the sun coming up in the morning. Even after a lending crisis last decade, the country retained the lead, with $118 billion HDFC Bank HDBK.NS often at the front. Not any longer. A resurgence of players like HSBC HSBA.L and JPMorgan JPM.N as well as the rise of India’s capital markets have both landed blows on the sector. In HDFC’s case, its own governance and margin woes have completed a triple whammy.

The Mumbai-based bank run by Sashidhar Jagdishan currently trades at less than 2 times its estimated book value 12 months from now, per LSEG data. A few years ago, most developed-market peers could only dream of such a level. Now, thanks to resurgent earnings and, in the U.S. at least, a regulatory proposal to cut capital requirements, they sport book multiples most have not worn since the 2008 financial crisis. JPMorgan’s, for example, is now at 2.5 times; the new king of the metric is $206 billion Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX at 3.7 times.

Meanwhile, many Indian banks are struggling to hoover up low-cost deposits as savers look for higher yields in the stock market. That’s hurting net interest margins, with HDFC’s and Axis Bank's expected to fall again this financial year, per estimates collated by Visible Alpha. Industry-wide bank deposits dropped to around one-third of household financial savings in the 13 years to the end of March 2025, while equity and mutual funds grew sevenfold to over 15%, government data show.

HDFC, though, has also shot itself in the foot. In 2020 the Reserve Bank of India barred it from issuing new credit cards after recurring online shutdowns. A 2023 merger with its mortgage-lender parent failed to live up to its promise. In March its chair resigned citing ethical differences with management. Last month the board fined top executives including Jagdishan for improprieties in deposit pricing while exonerating their actions as "business overreach". The successive crises reflect poorly on Aditya Puri, HDFC's Managing Director and CEO from its inception in 1994 until 2020.

It’s not alone. The $41 billion Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS trades at 2.5 times forward book value that’s half its 2019 peak, having been beset by a poorly handled leadership transition and business restrictions akin to HDFC's.

Lifting those curbs has done little for either firm’s valuation. Not all the country’s lenders are suffering from valuation blues: $107 billion ICICI Bank ICBK.NS has undergone a successful turnaround and trades at nearly 3 times book. But HDFC’s path back to the top has too many obstacles.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

HDFC Bank on July 27 said it would issue warning letters and impose a penalty of 100,000 ​rupees ($1,045.51) each on CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan, its chief financial officer ​and its head of retail assets for their role in offering preferential deposit rates to a state agency.

The bank's board concluded that its executives involved in setting deposit rates for the agency ​had engaged in business overreach, rather than acting for ‌personal gain.

(Editing by Antony Currie; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

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By Bharath Rajeswaran

Aug 7 (Reuters) - India's market outlook is strengthening as bank credit growth reaches its fastest pace in more than a decade, foreign equity inflows return and central bank measures support the rupee, according to Jefferies.

"There are some positives to be aware of as regards the Indian domestic story," Christopher Wood, Jefferies' global head of equity strategy, said in his latest GREED & fear note published on Friday.

Against this backdrop, Jefferies has reshaped its India long-only portfolio. HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, India's largest private lender and the heaviest stock in benchmark indexes, is being removed alongside PolicyBazaar-owner PB Fintech PBFI.NS.

MCX MCEI.NS and Lenskart Solutions LENS.NS will replace them, while REC RECM.NS makes way for Bajaj Finance BJFN.NS. Eternal's ETEA.NS allocation rises by one percentage point, funded by a reduction in Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS.

Foreign investors bought a net $2.12 billion of domestic equities in July as India benefited from the unwind out of the memory chip trade. However, they remain net sellers for the year, with outflows totaling $25.86 billion, according to National Securities Depository.

The more important signal, Wood said, is the acceleration in domestic lending, which has climbed to 17–18% year-on-year, led by corporate lending of about 20%. Loans to agriculture and retail borrowers are also expanding at healthy rates, underscoring broad-based demand.

Policy-driven inflows are adding a macro cushion. The Reserve Bank of India's foreign-currency inflow scheme, including non-resident deposits, external commercial borrowings and foreign-currency bonds, had mobilized about $41 billion by the end of July, and Jefferies expects inflows to reach $80 billion–$100 billion by the September 30 deadline.

The removal of tax on interest income on foreign purchases of government bonds has also generated $8.7 billion in net inflows since early June, per exchange data.

"All this increases the likelihood that the rupee should stabilise," Wood said. The currency recovered to 95.17 per U.S. dollar, as of July 31, from a low of 96.96 in May.

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Aug 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India's banks may need to take some lessons in layoffs from Wall Street. Staffing levels at HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, ICICI, Axis AXBK.NS and Kotak Mahindra KTKM.NS fell by up to 4% during the 12 months to the end of March after years of increases. It's largely the result of businesses maturing, revenue growth slowing and more tasks getting automated. Goldman Sachs GS.N, Morgan Stanley MS.N and others routinely dump more. But India generally frowns on making people redundant. AI is likely to force its financial services firms – and others – to look past the taboo and embrace deeper cuts.

Western lenders and investment banks tend to slash their ranks when a downturn hits. But some, like Goldman, also oust those performing poorly – as much as 5% of employees – each year. By that metric, their Indian peers are only dabbling. Moreover, natural attrition seems to account for most, if not all, of the reductions.

That does the job for now as the businesses weaken somewhat. Total revenue at $41 billion Axis for the financial year to the end of March grew at nearly a quarter of its pace the previous year, while Kotak's fell slightly. Yet the compensation ratio for both, and for $122 billion HDFC, stayed flat, suggesting the softly-softly downsizing is working, Breakingviews calculates, using data disclosed by the lenders. Increased outsourcing of tasks like loan collection and IT management weighs on headcount too.

The rise of automation, though, whether due to AI or less advanced technology, is likely to increase pressure to reduce staff numbers. A substantial share of new business, for example, now comes from attracting new retail customers digitally, reducing the need to keep expanding and staffing branches. And AI capabilities are making humans increasingly redundant at routine functions like fraud monitoring and data analysis.

At Axis Bank, where staff numbers fell 3%, CEO Amitabh Chaudhry has set targets that include using AI to automate and augment half of its customer calls in the current financial year. HDFC, which reported a 2% workforce reduction, is applying AI to retail credit decisions and trade transactions.

As banks commit to adopting AI across a growing chunk of their operations, more job functions will have to go, though they are likely to find more productive jobs for some. The impact will eventually show up at government-owned lenders like State Bank of India SBI.NS and intensify a slow-burn shrinkage underway there for years.

Their executives are likely to rely on natural attrition, retirements and reduced hiring for as long as possible. But the bigger the impact of AI and the more their businesses mature, the greater the chance that they will have to follow Wall Street's lead by breaking with convention to give more people the boot.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank reported an up to 4% year-on-year fall in their employee counts as of March 31.

In its annual report for the 12 months ended March, released on July 11, HDFC said the number of permanent employees on its rolls stood at 211,178, 2% lower than the level as on March 31, 2025. ICICI's filings show a 4% fall in the metric to 124,029, while Axis and Kotak reported declines of 3% and 1% respectively.

(Editing by Antony Currie; Production by Aditya Srivastav and Ujjaini Dutta)

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Aug 3 (Reuters) -

• S&P: HDFC BANK'S SENIOR UNSECURED NOTES RATED 'BBB'

• S&P: 'BBB' LONG-TERM ISSUE RATING TO $20 MILLION FLOATING RATE SENIOR UNSECURED NOTES DUE 2031 ISSUED BY HDFC BANK'S GIFT CITY BRANCH

Further company coverage: HDBK.NS

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00 ** Macquarie says completion of HDFC Bank's HDBK.NS review of employees involved in settling deposit rates for a state agency removes a major pending issue and provides regulators with a definitive factual assessment

** Brokerage says the distinction between commercial overreach and misconduct is important and supports a constructive interpretation of the findings

** HDBK has faced investor scrutiny since mid-March when its former chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned abruptly; stock down ~13% since

** Macquarie expects the reappointment process to progress in the coming weeks and says Jagdishan retains a decent chance of securing a three-year extension from the board and RBI

** HDBK down 0.3% at 737.35 rupees on Tuesday

** Macquarie maintains its "outperform" rating on stock with PT of 1,150 rupees

** YTD, HDBK down 25.7% vs Nifty 50's .NSEI 8.1% drop

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, July 24 (Reuters) - India's ICICI Bank ICBK.NS has priced a $1 billion five-year dollar bond at a much tighter spread than initially indicated, in the largest such issue by an Indian lender in nearly 14 years, three bankers said.

The bank set the coupon at 100 basis points over U.S. Treasuries, sharply lower the initial guidance of 130 basis points, for its first dollar debt sale in nearly nine years. The coupon works out to be 5.46%.

The offering attracted $3 billion in bids against a base issue size of $500 million, the bankers said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

ICICI Bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The deal is the largest dollar bond sale by an Indian private-sector bank, and the second biggest by any local lender since State Bank of India's $1.25 billion five-year issue in January 2013.

The private bank becomes the latest to leverage the central bank's lower-cost hedging facility, after the Reserve Bank of India last month introduced a swap facility allowing eligible external commercial borrowings by banks and state-owned companies to be hedged at a fixed rate of 1.5% per annum, compounded semi-annually.

The measure significantly lowers hedging costs, making overseas dollar fundraising more attractive.

CreditSights had projected the bond to be priced at a spread of 95-100 bps, but places the fair value at 85 bps.

Analysts Lim Ze Hao and Pramod Shenoi said ICICI Bank's bonds were fairly valued at broadly flat to HDFC Bank's debt and around 10 bps tighter than State Bank of India's four-year dollar bonds after accounting for duration premium.

In June, HDFC Bank had raised $750 million through a five-year dollar debt sale at a spread of 92 bps over Treasuries. In the secondary market, it was traded at a spread of 94 bps.

Another private sector peer Axis Bank had raised an aggregate of $800 million through a dual-tranche dollar bond issue in June.

The proceeds from ICICI Bank's issue will be used for general corporate purposes. The bonds are expected to be rated "Baa3" by Moody's and "BBB" by S&P Global, in line with the issuer.

In December 2017, ICICI Bank had raised $500 million through 10-year bonds at a coupon of 3.80%.

CreditSights has also upgraded its recommendation on these bonds to "outperform" from "market perform" earlier.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, July 23 (Reuters) - India's ICICI Bank ICBK.NS has provided an initial price guidance for a five-year dollar bond leveraging the central bank's lower-cost hedging facility, as the private lender returns to the dollar debt market after nearly nine years, two bankers aware of the matter said on Thursday.

The lender is expected to raise at least $500 million through this issue and has provided guidance of a spread of 130 basis points over the corresponding U.S. Treasury yield, the bankers added, requesting anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

The lender updated its Global Medium Term programme on Wednesday and immediately started the process of raising funds.

ICICI Bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

"The bank should finalise the pricing before the end of Friday, and we are expecting at least 30 bps of a compression from the initial guidance," one of the bankers said.

The transaction would mark ICICI Bank's first dollar bond issuance since December 2017, when it raised $500 million through 10-year bonds at a coupon of 3.80%.

CreditSights has a market perform recommendation on ICICI Bank's dollar bonds.

The Reserve Bank of India last month introduced a swap facility allowing eligible external commercial borrowings by banks and state-owned companies to be hedged at a fixed rate of 1.5% per annum, compounded semi-annually.

The measure significantly lowers hedging costs, making overseas dollar fundraising more attractive.

The nation's second-largest private bank will join peers HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, which raised $750 million through five-year bonds and $800 million via a dual-tranche dollar bond issue in June.

The proceeds from the issue would be used for general corporate purposes, the bankers added.

The offering will be rated Baa3 by Moody's and BBB by S&P Global, in line with the issuer, and would be sold through its GIFT City branch.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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MUMBAI, July 22 (Reuters) - India's HDB Financial Services HDBF.NS accepted bids worth 4 billion rupees ($41.4 million) for the reissue of 8.2301% July 2029 bond, three bankers said on Wednesday.

The firm will offer a yield of 7.75%, and had invited commitment bids for the issue earlier in the day, they said.

The company did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on July 22:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 96.5650 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra and Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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Updates for market close

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

July 21 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks fell on Tuesday, weighed by weakness in top private lender HDFC Bank, while conflicting signals from the Middle East also dragged on sentiment.

The benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI ended down 0.21% at 24,187.7, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN shed 0.31% to 77,470.11.

The heaviest stock on the benchmarks, HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, extended its decline to hit a five-week low on Tuesday, falling 2.1%. The lender lost 5.1% in the previous session after it reported weaker-than-expected net interest margin for the first quarter.

"The market reaction makes sense because the banking sector has not delivered the kind of operating improvement that should normally accompany (over) 18% credit growth," said Dhananjay Sinha, CEO and co-head of institutional equities at Systematix Group.

The sector is growing faster, but not earning enough on that growth, Sinha said.

HDFC Bank was also under pressure after Reuters reported that the lender is awaiting an additional review by independent directors before recommending CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan's reappointment to the Reserve Bank of India.

Meanwhile, Brent crude LCOc1 hovered around $90 a barrel as markets weighed reports of U.S.-Iran mediation against fresh attacks and Houthi threats to blockade Saudi Arabia. O/R

Higher oil prices are a particular risk for India, the world's third-largest crude importer, as they can fuel inflation, widen the trade deficit and pressure corporate margins.

Eight of the 16 major sectors fell. However, the broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 edged higher by 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.

Analysts attributed the broader market's outperformance to sector and stock-specific moves driven by relatively strong earnings growth.

Reliance Industries RELI.NS fell 1.5% in its second straight session of decline, following a rally ahead of the first-quarter results.

Among the gainers, top cement maker UltraTech ULTC.NS, rose 1.5%, extending gains from the previous session following strong quarterly profit.

SBI Funds Management SBIA.NS ended 6.2% higher on market debut after a $1.03 billion initial public offering last week.

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Eileen Soreng)

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