Deepak Parekh Takes A Final Bow With HDFC Bank, HDFC Set To Merge

HDFC Ltd.'s Chairman Deepak Parekh has issued his final communique to shareholders, even as HDFC and HDFC Bank Ltd. are set to complete their merger soon.

In his letter, Parekh characterised the process of working on the HDFC-HDFC Bank merger as "challenging and rewarding". Following the merger, HDFC's stock will be de-listed and the combined entity will trade as HDFC Bank.

"It is my time to hang my boots with both anticipation and hope for the future," Parekh wrote in his letter. He has served as the chairman of India's largest housing financier—HDFC Ltd.—since 1993.

The merger will create a banking behemoth valued at $178 billion and the fourth largest in the world going by market capitalisation.

"As we approach the tail end of the merger process, the effectiveness of the preparatory work undertaken will be tested," Parekh wrote in his letter, which was released on Friday. The merger marks a phase of the two entities working jointly to tackle the issues on hand. But more importantly, the process has enabled HDFC Bank to have a deeper understanding of the home loan business, his letter said.

"Encountering hurdles is par for the course in such transactions. Yet, what amazed us the most has been the immense goodwill and strong relationships that HDFC as a group has. Whenever and wherever we reached out for guidance, doors opened and help was at hand instantly," Parekh said in his letter.

Parekh expects the work culture of the two organisations to be an amalgamation of the best at both HDFC and HDFC Bank, he said.

"Home loans will now be complemented with HDFC Bank’s core strengths—its sales engine, execution capabilities at scale and deep insights on consumer behaviour," Parekh said in his letter.

The biggest risk that organisations face today is abiding by the status quo, believing that what worked well yesterday will continue in the future, Parekh wrote in his letter. "The orchestration of this merger is to ensure that the future is not constrained for any of our stakeholders," he said.

"While this will be my last communication to shareholders of HDFC, rest assured we now stride tall into a very exciting future of growth and prosperity," Parekh's letter said.