HDFC Bank Report : Sashidhar Jagdishan Emerges as India’s Highest-Paid Banker in FY25 with ₹12.08 Cr Salary.
Awards
According to the annual report released in July 2025 by HDFC Bank Limited, Sashidhar Jagdishan, its Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), has emerged as the highest-paid banker in India for the Financial Year 2024–25 (FY25). His total compensation stood at ₹12.08 crore, marking a 12% increase over the previous fiscal year.
- Sashidhar Jagdishan's FY25 compensation of ₹12.08 crore comprises both salary and non-salary components. His base salary was supplemented with 2.12 lakh shares under the Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP), valued at approximately ₹42.4 crore at current market rates. This package reflects HDFC Bank’s commitment to performance-driven leadership rewards.
- Despite being the highest-paid banker overall, Jagdishan was the second-highest-paid bank CEO in FY25. The top spot among CEOs went to Ashok Vaswani, MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (KMBL), who earned a total compensation of ₹12.95 crore, including 18,580 ESOPs worth ₹4 crore. Vaswani assumed the CEO role in January 2024.
- Ashok Vaswani’s compensation package in FY25 reflected a significant jump from his initial salary. During the last quarter of FY24, Vaswani earned only ₹1.62 crore post-appointment. His FY25 package makes him the highest-paid bank CEO in the country, surpassing his peers in both salary and equity-based incentives.
Main Point :- (i) Amitabh Chaudhary, MD & CEO of Axis Bank, earned ₹9.11 crore in FY25, showing a 5.4% decline from FY24. Along with his salary, he was granted 2.69 lakh ESOPs valued at ₹30 crore. Despite the decline, his total compensation remained among the highest in the banking sector.
(ii) Other leading bank CEOs in the FY25 compensation list include V. Vaidyanathan of IDFC First Bank and Sandeep Bakhshi of ICICI Bank. Vaidyanathan earned ₹5.54 crore in salary and 20,626 ESOPs worth ₹18 crore, reflecting a 4.5% year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, Bakhshi received ₹9.96 crore in annual salary, with ESOP values yet to be publicly disclosed.
(iii) This report highlights growing trends of ESOP-linked incentives and performance-based compensation in India’s banking leadership. With increasing emphasis on wealth creation through equity, top Indian banks are aligning CEO pay structures with shareholder value and long-term institutional goals.
About HDFC Bank Limited
MD & CEO : Sashidhar Jagdishan
Headquarter : Mumbai
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