“Could Be Creating A New HDFC Bank Every 4 Years” Says CEO Jagdishan On Mega Merger
HDFC Bank will be rapidly growing its loan book in the coming years, the lender’s chief said on Saturday.
Considering the growth potential ahead and the pace of growth it is adopting, HDFC Bank will be rapidly growing its loan book in the coming years, the lender’s chief said on Saturday.
In a message to employees after announcing India’s largest corporate merger, HDFC Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sashidhar Jagdishan said, "Our work starts from today, in realising the potential of what this merger holds for us."
Late Friday, the boards of HDFC Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd. announced that the latter would be merged into the bank, effective Saturday.
The merger, which was first announced in April 2022, will create India’s second-largest bank by assets. Going by market capitalisation, HDFC Bank will be the fourth-most valued bank in the world.
With HDFC’s mortgage lending business coming into the bank, the lender will now offer a complete bouquet of services to its customers, which it could not do earlier.
Speaking about the business opportunity ahead, Jagdishan said that it was "very large", as India is a country where financial services and mortgages are underserved and underpenetrated.
"HDFC Bank—the combined entity—with a large and growing distribution and customer franchise, more than adequate capital, healthy asset quality, and profitability will be best positioned to capture growth," Jagdishan told the employees.
"The pace at which we aim to grow—we could be creating a new HDFC Bank every 4 years!"
While the growth story is looking strong, the bank’s priorities will be to manage three things: good governance and compliance, building a great workplace for employees, and offering a delightful experience to customers.
"These three are going to be important elements in each one’s personal assessment, so that we reach the pinnacle of excellence in these areas," Jagdishan said.
While addressing the over 4,000 employees of HDFC who have now joined the bank, Jagdishan said that he and the leadership team of the mortgage lender had kept the promise of protecting their jobs and pay during the merger. The bank had hired an external consultant to arrive at a formula to provide HDFC employees with commensurate job titles and pay.
The next step, Jagdishan said, would be to create a grievance committee to hear out any employee who may feel that they have not been dealt with adequately.
"We commit that once you settle into your roles, the committee will examine any further corrections to levels," Jagdishan said.
In his letter, he also acknowledged the contributions of Deepak Parekh, Keki Mistry, Renu Sud Karnad, and VS Rangan, who built HDFC over the years.
"As they hand over the baton to us, we have the onerous responsibility of taking this merged entity forward," he said.
