HDFC sacks employees for AT1 bond mis-selling

HDFC Bank has terminated three employees, including senior executives, after an internal probe into the alleged mis-selling of Credit Suisse AT-1 bonds to NRI clients at its UAE operations. The employees dismissed include Sampath Kumar (group head of branch banking), Harsh Gupta (EVP for Middle East, Africa and NRI business), and Payal Mandhyan (SVP). The probe revealed that staff in Dubai and Bahrain branches persuaded clients to shift FCNR deposits by presenting the bonds as fixed-maturity products with assured returns, while omitting disclosures about their perpetual nature and high risk. These bonds were written off during the UBS-led bailout of Credit Suisse. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has since barred the bank from onboarding new clients in the emirate, and the lender faces investor lawsuits.