Mumbai, Oct. 2 -- ICICI Bank veteran Anup Bagchi's appointment as the managing director and chief executive officer of HDFC Bank is the latest instance of the regulator approving external candidates to helm private sector banks.

Announced late on 1 October, Bagchi's appointment comes after he emerged as the frontrunner for the position over internal candidate and current deputy managing director Kaizad Bharucha.

"RBI might want to bring in more outsiders that are not part of the system as they can bring in more independence with them. Also, age is in Bagchi's favour, and the regulator would want continuity and stability in India's largest private sector bank," said Siddharth Goel, director, Fitch Ratings.

The decision to pick Bagchi fo...