Research

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to temporarily put a halt to all digital launches of HDFC Bank’s financial products and also cease all new issuances of credit cards by the bank brings to the fore the huge reputational risk on account of the bank ignoring...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Yet another instance has come to light of the practice of disguising transactions by routing them through shell companies. As revealed by ET Prime, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued show cause notice to Aditya Birla Finance (ABF) on the latter’s alleged role in...

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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. On July 19, 2022, based on a police press release, the media reported (here and here) a major theft in the currency chest of the ICICI Bank branch in Dombivali (near Mumbai). Allegedly, an ICICI Bank employee, on the weekend of July 9- 10, 2022, robbed the...

In the first 2-3 working days of December, 2019 Asiamoney’s ‘Best Digital Bank’ for 2019 in India failed its digital customers: they were unable to log onto either the bank’s mobile application or its internet banking platform. The problem recurred on December 7. That India’s number 1 bank by...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. HDFC Bank’s 1HFY2021 results is a study in contrasts to its non-bank finance company (NBFC) subsidiary, HDB Financial Services (HDB). While the standalone bank reported a 19% yoy growth in net profits, HDB’s  profits collapsed by an alarming 94% yoy (HDB reports only half-yearly performance). The dichotomy...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. In a significant event, Deepak Parekh, the non-executive chairman of HDFC, agreed to settle with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in connection with the latter’s investigation of non-compliance with the erstwhile Listing Agreement.  Parekh settled the issue by paying Rs 937,500 (US$ 12,727) to...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Axis Bank recently diminished the authority of its Chief Risk Officer (CRO) by taking corporate credit risk assessment away from him and giving it to the Chief Credit Officer. Cyril Anand, President and Chief Risk Officer (CRO), Axis Bank, has been ‘retired’ early, and the bank has...

HDFC Asset Management Co. (HDFC AMC), promoted by HDFC is in the news for all the wrong reasons, a rare situation for a blue-blooded group which is the darling of institutional investors. The only saving grace is that it is not the only AMC which has been impacted...