MAM
HDFC Bank poaches KKR’s Jigar Shah to run legal and compliance
Three-decade banking veteran to take over as general counsel from October
MUMBAI: HDFC Bank has gone shopping in private equity’s back yard, snapping up Jigar Shah, managing director and head of compliance at KKR’s local subsidiary, to become its new general counsel. India’s largest private lender by both assets and market capitalisation confirmed the move in a stock exchange filing, saying the appointment followed a nod from its governance, nomination and remuneration committee.
Shah steps in as general counsel-designate from 20 August, before taking full charge as general counsel on 1 October, once the paperwork and handover formalities are done.
His resume reads like a tour of global banking’s legal corridors. An alumnus of the University of Leicester and the University of Law in London, Shah cut his teeth at Deutsche Bank across multiple jurisdictions, rising to head of corporate banking and securities for India. He then jumped to JPMorgan Chase & Co in 2013 as managing director and head of legal for India, before landing at KKR in 2018.
HDFC Bank was in no mood to undersell the hire. “Jigar Shah has over three decades of experience across legal, compliance, governance and regulatory matters in the banking and financial services sector,” the bank said in its filing, noting his stint at Elmcroft Consulting Services, where he steered complex asset workout, restructuring and recovery mandates for a leading non-banking finance company platform.
Before that, at KKR India, Shah wore several hats at once, serving as head of legal and compliance, sitting on the India leadership team, and doubling up as whole-time executive director and business leader for KKR India Financial Services.
Shah’s move adds to a busy season of legal reshuffles in Indian banking. In May, Payel Sau joined Deutsche Bank as assistant vice president, legal, while last year IndusInd Bank brought in Anand Vardhan as general counsel, designating him senior management personnel.
With Shah now aboard, HDFC Bank has bagged itself a legal heavyweight fresh from the private equity trenches, and the message to rivals is unmistakable: when it comes to top-tier talent, the country’s biggest private lender doesn’t do window shopping.
