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Articles Published by Hemindra Hazari

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Government banks have been derided for indulging in ‘phone banking’ (being instructed on the telephone by ruling party politicians and civil bureaucrats to lend to specific unworthy companies). But what the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) affidavit in the Delhi Court (as disclosed by the media -- here and...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. “hush money”: money paid to someone to prevent them from disclosing embarrassing or discreditable information – Concise Oxford English Dictionary HDFC Bank, India’s most valuable bank, has been found to be levying ‘processing fees’ on prospective retail customers who submitted spurious documents for availing a loan from the...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. While Axis Bank has recovered from its corporate non-performing asset (NPA) crisis, it seems to be in the midst of a management attrition problem, partly explained by significant sackings in FY2020. Staff turnover levels have been steadily rising in the period FY2018 – FY2020 (FY2021 data is...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Two long serving senior executives of HDFC Bank who headed important business verticals have abruptly quit the bank, reportedly under unusual circumstances. Abhay Aima (Group Head – Private Banking), quit sometime in FY2020, while Ashok Khanna (Group Head – Secured Vehicle Loans) left in early FY2021. Aima,...
Ravi Narayanan, the 55-year old Group-Head in-charge of retail branches, retail liabilities and third party products abruptly resigned from Axis Bank on March 13, 2024 because he wished to pursue an “entrepreneurial journey”. He will be relieved on March 22, 2024, to conform to his wish for an early...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. A closer look at Axis Bank’s staff data reveals the alarming mortality rate of new hires in the bank, and provides a glimpse of new hire attrition in the private banking industry in India. This appears to be a symptom of toxic work culture at the bank,...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. On September 13, 2019, a court in Udaipur, Rajasthan took cognisance of  charges and issued bailable warrants against Sandeep Bakhshi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), ICICI Bank and other officials of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (ICICI Pru Life) for criminal conduct under the Indian Penal Code, 1860...
Three new developments herald a possible new beginning for Paytm Payments Bank (PPB): The reconstitution of its board of directors, apparently due to pressure from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI); the stepping down of Vijay Shekhar Sharma (51% shareholder of PPB) as part-time chairman and the induction of...
An account of K.R. Shenoy's life gives us glimpses of a significant phase of Indian banking, one which had far more dynamism than it usually gets credit for. Hemindra Hazari The laterite soil of the district of Dakshina Kannada – or ‘south Canara’ as it was referred to before Independence –...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was forced to disclose its confidential inspection reports, called Risk Assessment Reports (RARs), of the State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank for the years FY2013 to FY2015. Shockingly, among the four banks, HDFC Bank...