HDFC Bank Information Portal

HDFC secures place amongst world’s most ethical firms

2011-03-17T03:45:00.000-07:00

HDFC officials have a reason to smile and to be proud of as they have been listed amongst the world’s most ethical companies fro this year and most importantly it is the only firm form India that managed to secure a place in the list.

The Ethisphere Institute prepared a list of 110 organizations of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, short listing from a total of nearly 3000 companies from more than 100 countries there were nominated or that nominated themselves for the consideration.

This designation is awarded to the companies that have been following ethics and compliance programmes is far better way then the other involved in the same industry.

The CEO and Vice–Chairman of HDFC Bank Mr. Keki Mistry said “It obviously feels nice to be one of the world's most ethical company and the only one from India. HDFC is one of the most trusted brands in the country and for a financial services company it is very important that people perceive it as ethical."

HDFC Bank launches easy-to-remember phone number

2011-02-10T03:47:00.001-08:00

To make customer care service of the bank more user friendly, HDFC Bank has launched an easy to remember phone number for the customers.

The number for the customers in Mumbai, New Delhi and NCR, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata is 61606161 and for those in Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Kochi, Patna (Bihar and Jharkhand) the number is 6160616.

The customers can call on the new numbers for their queries and all banking needs. The bank offers this service in 9 regional languages.

HDFC Bank upgrades phone banking service

2011-02-02T03:31:00.000-08:00

HDFC Bank yesterday announced that it has fully equipped the phone banking facility as per the guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India. In order to make transactions over phone safer the Central Bank introduced several new guidelines and instructed the banks to upgrade their systems accordingly.

According to the new guidelines, the customers will require a password generated by the bank each time they make a transaction over phone. Earlier the Reserve Bank decided January 1 as the deadline for the banks to upgrade their systems but some banks asked for more time, so the Central Bank decided February 1 as the revised deadline.

A senior bank official said "Phone banking has emerged as one of the key delivery channels at HDFC Bank .With technological advancements, it is now possible to offer single set of phone numbers across multiple locations."

HDFC forays into education sector

2011-01-31T08:10:00.000-08:00

HDFC Bank recently forayed into the education sector. The bank inked deal with Indus World Schools. The deal is believed to be ranging somewhere between 40 to 50 crore.

The Indian schooling sector is believed to be amongst one of the fastest growing in the world. Last year the Indian market accounted for 40 percent of the total education market across the world.

Managing Director of HDFC Bank Renu Sud Karnad said “HDFC and CL have a lot to gain from this relationship. Together, we can make a significant positive impact on the quality of school education in the country.”

Indus World Schools is a unit of education company Career Launchers. Currently IWS comprises of 14 schools in total across the country. IWS also contributes to the social cause as it runs schools for underprivileged students in Andhra Pradesh and in Gujarat and Punjab through Government partnerships. The group plans to take the total number of schools to a staggering 75 in next five years.

HDFC judged as most popular bank for 2010

2011-01-17T04:13:00.000-08:00

According to an online survey HDFC Bank was judged as the most popular bank for the year 2010. The survey was based on the number of visitors that visited the web site of the bank per day nad rakings from various ranking portals and analytical data

According to the web site 417360 visitors visited the web site of the bank per day. The largest lender of the country was judged in the fourth place according to the survey.

HDFC Bank was followed by ICICI Bank and Axis bank in the charts. With 1.32 lac visitors the State Bank of India topped the PSU segment.

Citi Bank that is in headlines these days due to the scam topped the chart in the foreign banks category. Union Bank of India was judged as most popular nationalized bank while Bank of India as most popular nationalized bank of the country.

HDFC Bank revises its BPLR by 50bps

2010-09-07T04:09:00.000-07:00

HDFC Bank has again revised its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR). Lender has raised its BPLR by 50bps to 16.25 percent. The revised rates will be applicable from immediate effect.

Thus all BPLR-linked loans, including vehicle and personal loans, which were taken by the bank customers before July, 1 2010, will rise in respective proportions.

Under BPLR the customers can avail loans at a discounted rate to the BPLR offered by the lender. As per Reserve Bank of India’s directive from July 1, 2010 all the banks have moved to the base rate system and lending loans to the new borrowers on the base rate. HDFC has set its base rate at 7.25%.

A senior bank official said due to rising cost of funds bank has raised its BPLR. Earlier bank had raised term deposit rates across various maturity periods.

The official said, “Deposit rates in the banking system could move up further by 50-75 basis points by the end of the financial year. Depending on credit demand, base rate could also come up for review in October.”

However, in the last one month almost all the banks, including the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank, Union Bank of India and IDBI Bank have increased their BPLRs on an average by 50-75 basis points.

PNB has raised its BPLR to 11.75 per cent from 11 per cent with effect from August 1. Union Bank hiked to 12.25 per cent from 11.75 per cent with effect from August 4. SBI raised its BPLR by 50 basis points to 12.25 per cent with effect from August 17. ICICI Bank increased BPLR by 50 basis points to 16.25 per cent with effect from August 18.

All the banks have also raised their term deposit rates by 25-150 basis points across various maturity periods.

According to financial analysts, bank by rising the BPLR will be try to move the existing loan customers to the base rate. Because banks do not want to be under the burden of administering two benchmark lending rates.

HDFC’s education arm Credila to lend more this fiscal

2010-07-22T04:47:00.000-07:00

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), educational loan unit Credila Financial Services has set a target of increasing its loan book 2.5 times in the current financial year.

HDFC, early this month acquired an additional 10 per cent with which its stake in Credila increase to 51 per cent, is planning to take control of the distribution network and customer base of HDFC Bank to expand.

Credila Country Head Prashant Bhonsle said: “We have so far disbursed over Rs 40 crore and plan to reach Rs 100 crore by March 2011. HDFC can help us scale up quickly. Along with its brand equity, we can leverage its distribution structure and network”.

The public sector banks (PSBs) are the main players of the education loan. To be in competition with PSBs Credila has to cover a wide distance.

In 2009-10 PSBs disbursed educational loans worth Rs 8,000 crore to 320,000 students while there outstanding loans amounted to Rs 35,628.33 crore at the end of March 2010.

He said, “We can access its (HDFC’s) existing customers and database. It will not only help us expand but also bring down the cost of funds.”

The company is also having talks with other banks in order to diversify its sources of funds. PNB is giving credit whereas CARE has assigned a “BBB”-rating for its term loan facility (Rs 100 crore).

Currently Credila is doing 65 per cent of lending, to students studying within the country and the loan is given mainly for management courses in India, in the United States the disbursement is largely for masters in science, followed by management courses.

Bhonsle said, “This is an asset class in India which has not been focused on as a separate venture. While PSBs have been offering student loan services, they have been selling it as part of the product portfolio they offer.”

Giving details on where does Credila stands out vis-à-vis banks; Bhonsle says the loan facilities offered by banks are mostly identical. Moreover banks sanction loans only after a student has attained admission. Whereas, non-banking financial companies based on domain expertise and their understanding of the background, approve loans before admission.

Credila says that it is more rationalized on courses and career prospects for students, due to which it is more flexible. It gives loans against less security (collateral) as compared to big commercial banks. Bhonsle said, “We are flexible. Our domain expertise helps us extend this facility in such a large market of opportunity.”

It also has a different approach. To get loan student has to visit bank branch whereas Credila reaches out to students for loans.

“Students and parents want the kind of help that we are offering –reaching their door steps. If someone comes to them and explains everything, it makes sense. Small things are of large importance,” added Bhonsle.

Credila’s keep its back-end operations updated on education institutes. It has a database of more than 20,000 colleges.

The company is offering loans between interest rates of 9.75 per cent and 12.5 per cent and provides loans up to Rs 50 lakh, while PSBs do not lend more than Rs 20 lakh.

HDFC Bank has raised withdrawal limit and shopping limit of all debit cards

2010-06-02T02:56:00.000-07:00

At present customers are allowed to withdraw up to Rs50,000 per day on their debit cards from ATM. But HDFC Bank has raised the withdrawal limit and shopping limit of all debit cards, effective June 1.

The ATM withdrawal and shopping limits, respectively, for the Imperia Gold card has been increased to Rs1 lakh and Rs1.25 lakh from Rs50,000 per day; Easy Shop Regular International/Maestro/NRO cards has been increased from Rs25,000 and Rs40,000 from Rs15,000 and 25,000 while on Kid’s Advantage card the limit has been increased to Rs2,500 from Rs1,500 and Rs1,000 and on Women’s card it has been increased up to Rs25,000 from Rs20,000.

However ICICI Bank allows withdrawals up to Rs1 lakh and a transaction limit of Rs1.5 lakh on its Titanium, Platinum and Signature debit cards per day.

While on Gold card the withdrawal as well as transaction limit is up to Rs 50,000.

On Axis Bank’s Gold Card withdrawal limit is up to Rs 50,000, but shopping limit is of Rs1.75 lakh per day.

Withdrawal limits for customers set by the banks are according to Reserve Bank of India guidelines.

A banking analyst with a brokerage firm pointed out, “Withdrawal limits set by banks usually depend on their customer bases and the nature and ticket sizes of the transactions.”

“Few transactions or withdrawals by our customers touch the limit. So, as of now, we haven’t thought of raising those limits,” said SS Ranjan, chief financial officer, State Bank of India (SBI).

Meanwhile, SBI, country’s largest public sector lender has a withdrawal limit of Rs Rs40,000 and transaction limit of Rs50,000 per day.

However cash withdrawals from the ATMs of other banks have not been changed it is still Rs 10,000 per transaction, allowing five such transactions a month.

HDFC follows SBI's suit and extends its teaser home loan scheme

2010-05-14T02:56:00.000-07:00

Earlier HDFC Bank following the suit of State Bank of India (SBI) had reintroduced its teaser rate scheme and the last date was April 30. As SBI is getting good response for its teaser home loan scheme so it extended the up till June 30. Although HDFC did not said anything about the extension of the scheme but, now it has also extended its special home loan scheme till June 30.

Under this special scheme, HDFC will offer a fixed rate of 8.25% up to March 2011, 9% for the next one year and floating rate thereafter to all customers who avail at least part of the loan by June 30, an HDFC spokesperson told.

Earlier, when the Reserve Bank’s raised concern over such teaser schemes all banks, except SBI had stopped their teaser schemes or special home loan offers under which they offered loans at a cheaper rate to customers for a fixed period.
As HDFC has announced extension of the scheme it is believed more banks might also announce similar products to attract borrowers.

HDFC expect rates to increase by 25-50 bps in the first quarter of next fiscal

2009-11-24T02:57:00.000-08:00

According to Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), country’s largest mortgage company interest rates will probably increase by 25 to 50 basis points in the first quarter of the next fiscal. This was pointed out by HDFC joint managing director Renu Karnad, who informed reporters that HDFC is also expecting increase in loan disbursements of by 22 to 25% during the current fiscal.

While speaking on the sidelines of a function marking the launch of the Real Estate Sensitive Index (Ressex), Ms Karnad stated attention is being paid over the rise in the real estates prices which have increased sharply due to the recovery in capital markets.

In her speech, Ms Karnad said, “Even in today’s ‘affordable housing’ mantra days, the common man has to shell out more than an arm and a leg to buy his home. “In India, housing, if priced correctly, has an enormous demand. Given the acute housing shortage, it is unlikely that there will be any saturation in the market for a long time to come.”

Ms Karnad added, the real estate index, will be helpful for the customers and lender as they will be to take a view of the housing market. The index has been developed by a private consultancy firm Liases Foras.

“In the last year alone, which was one of the toughest periods in economic history, the real estate industry in India has managed to grow at over 16% YoY. As a contributor to GDP growth, current estimates place the real estate sector at 8.86% of GDP. At the same time, over Rs 230 billion is being proposed to be raised across 8-10 real estate IPOs within the next 6-12 months. The post-crisis events have shown us the importance of transparency, compliance and integrity in the business world,” she said.

“The housing industry in particular, which addresses the needs of millions of consumers, requires a greater degree of sophistication in its reporting of accessible and value-adding information,” she added.

CCI to investigate loan prepayment penalty charged by banks

2009-10-30T02:26:00.000-07:00

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is keeping an eye on few of private sector lenders including HDFC Bank, Deutsche Postbank Home Finance and LIC Housing Finance, as they are levying a penalty on consumers who are paying off their loans ahead of schedule.

According to a person closely watching the development in case the CCI found the practice anti-competition, then either the regulator or its appellate tribunal can put ban on this practice across the industry and can also penalize banks for charging the levy. The person informed the regulator is trying to gather information from these institutions. A senior CCI official refused to comment on this.

Replying to an e-mail sent by ET, HDFC, India’s largest mortgage lender said, “....the business of a bank/ financial institution involves borrowing and lending and in the process the lending institution tries to run a matched balance sheet of assets and liabilities. Prepayments are essentially accelerated payments before the schedule. Any prepayment will disturb the asset-liability match and in order to mitigate the negative impact of the prepayments the institutions/banks charge a prepayment charge. Every time when there is a prepayment from the borrowers it will not be feasible for the banks to prepay its lenders as its loan agreement with lenders may either not permit it or permit it only with certain charges, notice period and may be subject to other conditions.” HDFC is charging maximum prepayment levy of 2% of the amount prepaid.

When contacted Deutsche Postbank Home finance, it declined to discuss the issue, stating that the matter was sub judice, while HDFC Bank and LIC Housing Finance, refused to comment on this. Till now no directives have been issued to banks, by the banking regulator on a prepayment penalty. When newsperson contacted, RBI governor D Subbarao said in Mumbai, that complaints regarding levying a penalty will be discussed with the ombudsman.

However some of the lenders inflict prepayment charge only in the cases where customer decided to refinance the loan by borrowing at a lower interest from another institution. An HDFC spokesperson said, “The policies of HDFC have always favored customers prepaying loans from their own savings. For example, there are no prepayment charges on part prepayments up to 25% of the opening balance or if the customer prepays his entire loan after three years from his own savings.” In the last one year when banks began to lower interest rates and also agreed to refinance existing loans to gain market share, then only borrowers came to know about the charges relating to loan prepayment. Early this year State Bank of India, country’s largest lender, initiated with its 8% home loan.

The senior banker pointed out although prepayment levied on fixed interest rate is justified, but according to consumers it is not right to attach these charges with floating rate loans. Moreover, when interest rates come down, not many banks pass on the full benefits to their customers, but they are quick in increasing either the EMI (equated monthly installment) or the loan tenor when interest rates start rising.

Thus due to these levied charges, borrowers who had taken floating rate loans restrain from switching to another lender that is offering a lower rate loan.

On the other hand banks also restrain from giving benefits of lower rates to the existing borrowers, instead they offer cheaper loans to attract new customer. CCI is already looking into prepayment charges for auto, personal and other loans, but in case of home loans the issue seems to be significant which have tenors of as long as 15 to 20 years.

A person familiar with the CCI investigation stated, “Prepayment penalty comes in the way of a customer who wants to close a loan and avail of another loan from a bank that lends at a lower interest rate. It makes such migration economically unviable unless the interest rate differential between the banks is more than the quantum of penalty. Such exit load on loans is an entry-barrier for new products in the market and hence anti-competitive”.

The CCI, will also investigate whether the charging of levying prepayment penalty leads to collusive behavior.

HDFC Bank revised lending rate by 25 basis points

2009-07-24T03:28:00.000-07:00

HDFC Bank country’s second largest bank among private sector lender announced cut in the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 15.75 per cent.

According to information placed on HDFC bank website the revised benchmark prime lending rate of 15.75 per cent per annum has come into effect from July 20. With the cut in lending rates the fixed deposits rated have also been reduced effective from May 18.

In the past six months, the PLR has been revised by 75 basis points earlier bank had revised PLR in December 2008, when the rate was reduced by 50 basis points to 16 per cent.

The loans given by the private sector banks are mostly rated below PLR, but some of the corporate loans they relate to the benchmark rate.

As there is variation in PLR therefore to study the relevance of PLR in the changed scenario, last month the Reserve Bank formed a six-member working group to study the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) system and suggest a single method for pricing of floating rate loans, which will help in bringing more transparency in fixation of interest rates on housing loans by banks.

The working group is headed by the RBI Executive Director Deepak Mohanty includes J P Morgan India chief economist Jahangir Aziz and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad Professor as its members.

In addition to them, other members of working group include RBI chief general manager P Vijaya Bhaskar and Janak Raj, advisor-in-charge in the monetary policy department of the central bank and RBI's monetary policy department director Himanshu Joshi, who is a member secretary.

According to RBI release, "The working group may co-opt any other members as special invitees and may consult with all stakeholders".

The group would be placing its report by end-August 2009. In the report the group will give some suggestions for a suitable benchmark for floating rate loans in the retail segment.

Also there will be some recommendation for an appropriate loan pricing system based on international best practices, the release stated. It said the reviewing is being done to make the credit pricing more transparent.

HDFC says demand for home loans is picking up

2009-07-03T03:19:00.000-07:00

According to a banker who had attended the meeting of the Finance Minister and PSU bank chiefs said that the finance ministry as well as the Reserve Bank of India wanted a steep fall in lending and deposit rates because it is believed this will cover RBI interest rate curve, which is one of the reason for the absence of the strong pick-up in the credit demand.

The banker informed private and foreign banks have reduced lending as they have become cautious and risk reluctant, whereas the force of increasing the loans growth and meeting credit needs of the corporate sector is being endured by state-owned banks.

However the finance ministry and RBI officials have been advising the banking sector to pass on the benefits of lower interest rates to customers. After the meeting with Pranab Mukherjee, a few banks such as State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank and HDFC Bank reduced their deposit and loan rates.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), India’s leading housing finance lender, too had slashed its deposit rates by 25 basis points (0.25%) after the FM-bankers meet but has not taken any decision on reducing lending rates in the near future. Earlier the housing finance lender had reduced its lending rates on May 7 by 0.25% after bringing it down by 0.50% in March. At present the institution is waiting for directions on interest rates from Budget 2009-10 as well as Reserve Bank of India's credit policy review will be presented in July before moving on loan rates.

Recently Deepak Parekh, chairman, HDFC, informed that interest rates will be reviewed only after decline in cost of funds. Currently HDFC is charging 9.25% for loans up to Rs 30 lakh, 9.75 for loans between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 1 crore and 10% for loans above Rs 1 crore.

Sources at HDFC told UTVi that recently demand for housing is picking up substantially as against to what was seen in the last quarter of 2008. There has been increase in loan approvals in June which have exceeded the May numbers of the institution, as per the information provided by sources. The leader in housing finance is also likely to maintain growth in net profit for the current financial year at 20%. In the previous financial year, HDFC had registered a profit of Rs 2,268 crore, up 24% in comparison to the previous fiscal. The lender had approved around Rs 49,166 crore while disbursals amounted to Rs 39,650 crore in 2008-09.

HDFC Bank awarded ‘Best Retail Bank in India’

2009-05-13T03:52:00.000-07:00

HDFC Bank has won award for offering best retail banking services. On Tuesday bank released a statement in which it stated it has won The Asian Banker's Best Retail Bank in India award for the year 2008. In the statement it also said that bank has won the award for the third year in a row.

The Asian Banker magazine reported that HDFC Bank has been awarded the Best Retail Bank in India because for its robust core funding, superior financial performance, sustainability and effective distribution channels amidst a highly-challenging environment.

Strict finance terms for Nano finance scheme

2009-03-17T04:59:00.000-07:00

Tata Motors is giving final touches to the launch of Nano car. The company is having final talks with the State Bank of India (SBI) India’s largest bank, regarding finance scheme for the Nano car. Company has tied-up with SBI for the finance scheme for Nano, under which the bank will be financing 70 per cent of the price of the car at an interest rate of 14 to 14.75 per cent for a tenure of up to 5 years.

Last week meetings were held between General Managers of SBI branches across the country with the senior Tata Motors executives to decide the branches through which the finance will be offered and the method of rolling out the loan scheme across the country, especially in rural locations and small towns.

The strict terms have been made for the Nano finance scheme in comparison to those offered by both government-owned and private sector banks for comparable tenures. Currently government-owned banks are charging between 11.5 and 12 per cent, while SBI before 31 May is charging a concessional 10 per cent for car loans for the first year as part of a special scheme.

Private Banks like HDFC Bank are charging interest of 12 to 12.5 per cent and ICICI Bank 14.5 per cent. Most banks offer finance up to 85 per cent of the price of the car.

As per information provided by sources, the company has already received over 40 million queries on the Nano on its websites. According to dealers the cost of the opening level model will be Rs 1 lakh (excluding freight and value-added tax ) and consumers will have to pay Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 more for the air-conditioned model, though the dealers have still not been given the final pricing.

Regarding finance scheme a Tata Motors spokesperson told, “The booking process and other details will be announced on March 23, 2009. In any case, we have said on February 26, 2009, that Tata Motors is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that prospective customers can conveniently avail of booking facilities at their locations, across the length and breadth of India. Your information on interest rates etc is purely speculative.” However no reply to an email query was given by the SBI spokesperson.

The sources closely related to the process say that the company will be roll out limited number of cars from assembly lines in Pune (Maharashtra) and Pant Nagar (Uttarakhand), until a makeshift arrangement the main plant in Gujarat starts operations in October. While, the company’ aims to roll out around 100,000 cars in the first 12 months.

HDFC Standard Life in tie-up with Manipal introduced certificate program

2009-03-17T04:17:00.000-07:00

HDFC Standard Life a private sector insurer in collaboration with Manipal Education has started a three-month certificate program in Insurance and Management.

HDFC Standard Life released a statement which stated the program has been started with an aim to search for the talent, provide them training and groom talent from across the country to ready pool of insurance-trained sales professionals for the company.

It also stated the program has been designed to cater those individuals (MBAs, experienced and fresh graduates) who want to take up insurance as their career.

HDFC Bank launched a unique scholarship scheme for school children

2009-03-04T02:54:00.000-08:00

The HDFC Bank Meritus Scholarship programme is a motivating program, which look for rewarding all-round excellence among students and help add to their overall development. The awardees from all over the country would receive a scholarship ranging from Rs.2, 500 to Rs.10 Lakh.

Publicizing this first of its kind scholarship program, Group Head, HDFC Bank Rahul Bhagat, notified, “This initiative emphasizes the values our Bank stands for. It is a small contribution we are making towards the nation by facilitating young India in its quest for excellence. We are confident we’ll play the role of mentors to these bright children for years to come, and help them create an India that is better, more educated, and, more prosperous.”

Parents have to fill in the registration form available in respective schools to get their wards registered in the scheme. Otherwise, one can also register online by visiting the bank website www.hdfcbank.com/meritus. The last date is February 22, 2009 for submitting the registration form. One can see all the details of the program on the bank website.

To be eligible for the scholarship, registered students have to undertake four rounds of tests - two telephonic and two written, over a period of 16 weeks. To certain the full involvement of the parents in the overall progress of their child, the first two participation rounds will be conducted via telephone through an Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) system. Parents can help their children while taking the IVR test and help them get to the final rounds and in the final round the student has to give a written test. The questions prepared will be largely picked from the existing curriculum so that this program helps them in preparing for their school exams too.

Bank will select the final 5000 awardees on the bases of the final round scores, extra-curricular achievements and academics. To make the selection of scholarship awardees completely fair, an independent panel of qualified judges will select the scholarship awardees.

HDFC Bank launched a unique scholarship scheme for school children

2009-02-18T03:30:00.000-08:00

HDFC Bank leading private bank in India has launched a scheme “HDFC Bank Meritus scholarship”. The scheme is first of its kind related to education program. The aim of the scheme is to cover students of class 4 to 9 across the country and to shortlist the best 5000 students for an educational scholarships amounting to Rs 1.5 crore per year using various academic and non- curricular criteria. Bank has launched this program in alliance with Horlicks.

The HDFC Bank Meritus Scholarship programme is a motivating program, which look for rewarding all-round excellence among students and help add to their overall development. The awardees from all over the country would receive a scholarship ranging from Rs.2, 500 to Rs.10 Lakh.

Publicizing this first of its kind scholarship program, Group Head, HDFC Bank Rahul Bhagat, notified, “This initiative emphasizes the values our Bank stands for. It is a small contribution we are making towards the nation by facilitating young India in its quest for excellence. We are confident we’ll play the role of mentors to these bright children for years to come, and help them create an India that is better, more educated, and, more prosperous.”

Parents have to fill in the registration form available in respective schools to get their wards registered in the scheme. Otherwise, one can also register online by visiting the bank website www.hdfcbank.com/meritus. The last date is February 22, 2009 for submitting the registration form. One can see all the details of the program on the bank website.

To be eligible for the scholarship, registered students have to undertake four rounds of tests - two telephonic and two written, over a period of 16 weeks. To certain the full involvement of the parents in the overall progress of their child, the first two participation rounds will be conducted via telephone through an Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) system. Parents can help their children while taking the IVR test and help them get to the final rounds and in the final round the student has to give a written test. The questions prepared will be largely picked from the existing curriculum so that this program helps them in preparing for their school exams too.

Bank will select the final 5000 awardees on the bases of the final round scores, extra-curricular achievements and academics. To make the selection of scholarship awardees completely fair, an independent panel of qualified judges will select the scholarship awardees.

HDFC bank from India the biggest gainer among top 500 financial brands

2009-02-17T02:51:00.000-08:00

Indian banks have positioned itself amongst the world’s top 500 financial brands amidst the tight financial crisis. Around 19 Indian banks have positioned themselves especially at the time when global financial brands staggered due to tight financial crisis. In terms of brand value the top 500 banks lost around $218.1 billion (about Rs10.8 trillion) which means a 32 percent drop over the past year, while their market capitalization slumped by 51 percent to $3.9 trillion.

In comparison to the previous year's list around 209 banks have been out positioned as they became victim of the recession in U.S., Europe and Japan. From India HDFC Bank had turned out to be the biggest gainer. According to the Economic Times HDFC bank brand value rose by $243 million from 2007 to $611 million in 2008, and it positioned to 151 in the league table in 2008 from 236 in 2007. "Emerging market brands have significantly outperformed world brands in 2008. Many of the best known developed world banks have died in 2008. Some are walking dead awaiting a silver bullet before they finally go. Governments hold the gun," said David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance. Axis Bank has positioned itself at the 267 position while Kotak Mahindra Bank occupied 278 positions. However, State Bank of India (SBI) has been ranked 69 in the latest survey; it has come down from 60 a year earlier, with a brand value of $1.44 billion, down from $2.852 billion. SBI slipped down because its market capitalization fell to $9.83 billion from $12 billion.

Besides them 13 new public sector banks from have made entry including Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, Power Finance Corporation, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Syndicate Bank. The list also includes the three associate banks of SBI viz. State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur. While in the previous year, only six Indian banks could make in Brand Finance's list.

The rankings were provided by the Brand Finance along with The Banker magazine. The rankings were used through a discounted cash flow (DCF) technique to discount estimated future royalties, at an appropriate discount rate, to arrive at a net present value (NPV) of the trademark and associated intellectual property: the brand value.

Man behind HDFC Bank incredible growth- HDFC’s Aditya Puri

2009-02-10T02:58:00.000-08:00

The Indian Inc had go through very tough time in the year 2008 with major economies in recession. The inflation was at peak and Sensex had dipped, for many it made difficult to sustain. Only few were able to keep up with situation.

HDFC Bank was the only bank to be able to show steady growth, while some of its competitors got trapped in the sub prime mess. The bank continued its climb high.

In the third quarter the bank demonstrated a 45 per cent jump in its profits, incredible when banks around the world were thawing out.

The credit for this great growth story goes to one man who is CNN-IBN Indian of the Year – Business, Aditya Puri, and the Managing Director of HDFC Bank.

Under his guidance, HDFC bank has developed into one of the biggest private banks with over 1.2 million customers.

HDFC Bank is having the largest branch network of over 1,400 among all private sector banks - thanks to the smooth acquirement of Centurion Bank of Punjab.

Aditya Puri while in process of making his bank into world class one, carefully managed risks even though being called a conservative sometimes.

His insight is being praised today with the global economy in chaos. Amid 2009 is also expected to be a difficult year for businesses worldwide, the industry will be looking at Puri for leadership.

HDFC bank tie-up with Movie Mart offers up to 50% discount to credit card holders

2009-02-10T02:29:00.000-08:00

HDFC Bank credit card holders get to enjoy up to 50 per cent discounts on Movie Mart’s subscription plans. The offer is being given by online DVD rental portal Movie Mart which has tied-up with the HDFC bank.

Under this offer all HDFC card holders will be able to enjoy 10% off on monthly, 20% on quarterly, 30% on half yearly and 50% discount on yearly subscriptions.

MovieMart CEO Rahul Mansharmani notified, "We are happy to be associated with HDFC and their loyal customers, I can assure that all the card holders would be very pleased by what MovieMart is offering them. I would also like to add here that partnering with HDFC would give many more movie lovers an opportunity to try our services and experience the difference."

The offer is available on Movie Mart’s websites and the HDFC members can log on the site and select from plans that range between Rs 279 - 1199. Under this offer security deposits have also been removed from all membership plans therefore the customer will be able to keep the DVDs for a longer period without the late fee charges.

HDFC Bank cut rates on personal & commercial vehicles

2009-01-22T02:45:00.000-08:00

HDFC country’s second largest private lender has announced a cut in interest rates on personal and commercial vehicles which has come as a big relief for the auto-loan seekers. Bank has slashed interest rates by up to 150 basis points.

Besides bank has also announced cut in interest rates on corporate loans and wholesale credit. With the slash in rates on these loans is going to benefit small and medium enterprises and large companies.

HDFC Bank Head (Retail assets and credit cards) Pralay Mondal pointed out that car loans will get cheaper by 125 basis points, whereas interest on two-wheeler loans has been slashed by 150 basis points.

Simultaneously, the bank will be reducing interest rate on personal loan by 75-100 basis points, from existing 17-17.5 per cent.

He added, "We have been able to pass on such a massive reduction to customer as cost of fund has eased and it is slated to come down further in the coming months".

He further added the bank is taking this measure as a precaution which in turn will stimulate the lull auto sales in particular and the SME and manufacturing sector in general.

For the past two months the auto sector has been facing slowdown in sales. In December, the overall domestic auto sales came down by 18.2 per cent as the sales of commercial vehicles and two-wheeler crashed heavily.

Transversely the announcement of massive rate cut by the bank has come in less than 20 days after the reduction in its prime lending rate by half a percentage point.

The bank, largest financier of retail loan, is at present offering car loan at 13.5-14 per cent, commercial vehicle loans at 14.5-15 per cent, while credit for two wheelers draw interest rate at 24-24.5 per cent.

Besides this, HDFC Bank is determining to slash rates on loan against properties and securities by as much as 200 basis points.

Mondal remarked that the interest rate on loans against properties will be reduced by 150-200 basis points, while for credit against securities the cut will be one per cent.

While the exiting rates for such credit differ between 13.75 per cent and 15.25 per cent.

On the other hand, the bank is providing retail loan to its existing account holders at a discount, which differs between 50 and 100 basis points on the card rate. The discount depends on credit profile of the customers.

In the previous week, the bank's promoter HDFC Ltd launched a special housing loan scheme under which it is offering 9.75 per cent for new loans up to Rs 30 lakh.

Before the special offer, HDFC was taking 10.25 per cent for loans up to Rs 20 lakh and 11.25 per cent for bigger loans. The bank sells home loan products of its promoter.

It may be taken into consideration that across various maturities HDFC Bank last month has reduced deposit rate in the range of 50 to 225 basis points.

Therefore fixed deposit rates have been cut down across four maturities and the highest point of deposit rate of the bank has come down to about 10 per cent.

The government and the RBI with an aim to increase demand have taken several measures to bring down interest rates.

As part of its strategy government has permitted public sector banks to offer line of credit to NBFCs on new purchases, with an aim to boost demand.

HDFC Bank plan to cut down auto loan in some States

2009-01-20T02:40:00.001-08:00

Mr V.S. Ashok Khanna, HDFC bank’s Executive Vice-President and Business Head, Car and Two Wheeler Loans in an interview told Business Line that bank might lower its auto loan exposure in markets such as Delhi, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh following the State governments’ stand on repossession of vehicles in these regions.

“The Delhi police have issued directives asking customers having any complaints against recovery agents or collection agencies to call them on a toll free number. We are talking to the individual state governments; in case there is no change in policy, we will have to control our exposure in places like Delhi, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh,” Mr Khanna said.

The strict recovery norms and the strict clause on collection procedures have made the job of banks very difficult. He said there is fear among financiers which has made them cautious of lending.

In this year there has been a slowdown or even negative growth in the vehicle finance industry. He pointed out that these measures can lead to a further slowdown in the industry.

“There has been a slight increase in delinquency but it is not a cause of concern for banks. But what is more worrying is that such policies can turn customers paying their installments on time into willful defaulters. I anticipate further slowdown in the vehicle finance industry in 2009-2010,” he said.

As per the recent approximation by Crisil, the vehicle finance industry is approximately to register a negative growth of around 15 per cent in 2008-09, as against recorded Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 18 per cent between 2002-03 and 2007-08.

HDFC Bank plan to cut down auto loan in some States

2009-01-16T02:27:00.000-08:00

The strict recovery norms and the strict clause on collection procedures have made the job of banks very difficult. He said there is fear among financiers which has made them cautious of lending.

In this year there has been a slowdown or even negative growth in the vehicle finance industry. He pointed out that these measures can lead to a further slowdown in the industry.

Bankers wait for January CRR cut

2008-12-12T02:06:00.000-08:00

Bankers are expecting Reserve Bank of India governor Duvvuri Subbarao will cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by at least 50 basis points next month — and provide further force to the economic incentive package that the government and the central bank paved over the weekend.

Earlier on Saturday, Subbarao informed there is enough cash swilling about in the financial system in a clear justification for keeping hold on the CRR at 5.5 per cent. The CRR is that portion of deposits that banks must maintain with the RBI. A cut in this reserve ratio directly instill liquidity into the system.

According to the central bank sources it will be reviewing its credit and monetary policy in the middle of January.

Banking industry was hugely disappointed as the RBI hadn’t cut the cash reserve ratio, which would have given banks more cash to lend to firms.

“Ample liquidity was one of the key factors why the RBI did not reduce the CRR. However, it could cut it by 50 basis points next month to ensure that cheap funds are available to banks for lending,” said a senior official with a private sector bank.

Industry mavens had cried out in distress after the RBI failed to cut the CRR once again. Although between October and November this year, the central bank had reduced the reserve ratio by 350 basis points to 5.5 per cent. Some of the monetary measures were attached with it, this had injected close to Rs 300,000 crore into the financial system.

Pressure to cut the CRR has already started to mounting. Industry forum Ficci has advised the RBI to cut the reserve ratio to the 2004 level of 4.5 per cent. It also wanted the RBI to bring down the statutory liquidity ratio, which is now hanging at 24 per cent.

The SLR determines how much of the total deposits banks must invest in approved securities such as government bonds.

Last week, the central bank had cut down the short-term lending and borrowing rates — the repo and the reverse repo, respectively — by 100 basis points each and the government followed it by a pump-priming strategy intended to encourage industrial growth, which has shown signs of sputtering.

A section of the bankers are of view that the CRR cut is not required now as the financial system is having a surplus liquidity of over Rs 56,000 crore. On the other hand the RBI governor had informed the liquidity adjustment facility — through which the central bank manages the level of funds within the system — is in absorption mode.

Banks have not reacted with enthusiasm to the cut in the benchmark rates. Only Yes Bank, HDFC Bank and Union Bank have announced cuts in their prime lending rates that prop up their rate tables.

Bankers say that the cost of funds for banks remains high. Therefore banks have not cut down their deposit rates either; both rates will have to move in tandem.

Short term deposits growth increased by 40 to 50%

2008-11-25T23:57:00.000-08:00

Indian people are investing more in the short-term bank fixed deposits (read: three-month & six-month which they were to invest in real estate and equity markets. Due to this on an average there has been a 40 to 50% growth in the fixed deposits for shorter tenures.

According to Bankers market instability and general lack of confidence is the reason behind the investors opting for short-tenor product. In the last few months Kotak Mahindra Bank has seen its inflows more than doubling on fixed deposits (FDs), while the Bangalore-based ING Vysya Bank has witnessed an over 50% increase in its short-term deposits.

On the other hand Axis Bank, has accounted a growth of 25-30% in the 20-20 version of FDs. HDFC Bank India’s second largest private bank, also reported a high growth in fixed deposit. In the last nine months bank’s deposits have increased by almost 80%. According to latest data given out by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October alone, Indian banks had seen a raise in terms deposits worth Rs 94, 811 crore.

But bankers are of view that the high growth numbers is dangerous for the capital markets. As most of the investors, have withdrawn their funds from mutual funds and cleared up their stock portfolio to deposit with banks. K V S Manian, group head retail liabilities & branch banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank reportedly said that the latest trend is indicative of investor outlook towards equity markets in the short-term.

“We have in general seen a higher customer inclination for FDs. While the lower retail segment was always inclined towards the product, the attractiveness of current rates has enhanced their interest. However, in case of the high net worth individual segment, there’s a definite shift in attitude around this product of late,” he said.

Uday Sareen, country head, retail banking, ING Vysya Bank think this phenomenon, is quite broad based across the entire range of customers. “Given the current mood, individuals are deferring their decision to invest in real estate, stock market, and other investments. Gradually as people realign their expectations to the new financial paradigm, they will be willing to reassess their financial risk profile, financial goals and re-balance their portfolios,” he said.

While Manju Srivatsa, president, retail banking, Axis Bank feels, 25-30% growth in short-term FDs is a huge number in such a short period of time. “It’s a massive turnaround. There’s an overall increase in the demand and interest in FDs,” she said.

On the other hand Anindya Mitra, senior vice-president, retail liabilities, HDFC Bank, is of view that such trend might continue, till the equity market stabilizes. “Capital protection is on top of the priority with investors right now. At least, in the short-term, equity is getting substituted by FDs in an investor’s portfolio,” he said.

Serial home loan fraudster ran out of luck, caught by the police

2008-09-30T04:11:00.000-07:00

Powai police had a break through the housing loan fraud by arresting one Pankaj Jani on the complaints of a leading bank. Last week one of the leading banks filed a complaint with the police that the documents submitted by some applicants were forged.

The police told that Jani, who is a part of a wider racket, had allegedly taken housing loans of Rs 40 lakh and Rs 49 lakh loan from ICICI Bank in April this year. However Jani, luck could not favor him this time when he attempted to get loans of Rs 50 lakh and Rs 41 lakh from HDFC Bank and thus landed him in the police net.

The police on investigation found that Jani had applied for housing loan using different names, but the photographs he submitted were of his own. Whereas the applications submitted were in the name of Birendra Sadhu Shetty and Santosh Mhatre.

Intriguingly, the police found a photograph of another person having the similar name to the one of the names mentioned on the application, Birendra Sadhu Shetty. Moreover the documents submitted were also similar to those Jani had provided.

There were seven housing loan applications involved in the racket -five with ICICI Bank in Ghatkopar and two with HDFC Bank in Andheri. Jani started filing the applications six months ago. The police apprehended three applications of Rs 54 lakh, Rs 60 lakh and Rs 24 lakh, respectively, which were pending with ICICI Bank. They also confirmed that Jani had used fake names such as Birendra Sadhu Shetty and Santosh Mhatre in the applications. Another application was made in the name of one Anand Chandshieve.

Explaining the technique, senior inspector Rajdoot Rupwate said, "The money was being used to pay EMIs for the two loans that had already been sanctioned. If they hadn't done so, it could have raised the suspicion of the bank authorities, especially while clearing the other applications. Jani had sought the loans through direct sales agents."

The fraud came to light when a verifying officer with HDFC Bank, Kiran Karnik, found that the Jani had submitted fake documents. To cross check he then dialed the number given against Shetty's name, but the call was attended by a man named Shabbir Patel. Thereafter he lodged a complaint with the Powai police.

"The bank officials, along with the police, laid a trap for Jani and caught him while he had gone to collect the loan cheques," said Rupwate. "Jani revealed that he carried out the fraud after receiving instructions from the kingpin, Sahil alias Sohil alias Abhay Singh alias Rajesh alias Vijay Saksena alias Ajay Saksena. He has never met or seen Saksena ; the others involved in the racket, too, haven't met one another."

Further giving out details about the racket, sub-inspector Keshavkumar Kasar said, "Jani was assigned to get hold of people seeking loans. Their signatures were then taken on loan application forms. These people had no idea that the documents would be misused."

In this connection three other persons-Anil Shelar, Chandar Sharma and Sanjay alias Ajit have been arrested as well. Their documents were used to get the loans. The property for which the loans were sought was in Karve village, Navi Mumbai. "A member of the gang was stationed at the property site. Whenever bank officials visited the place, he used to put up nameplates with Shetty and Mhatre written on them," he said.

The police has booked all the accused for impersonation, cheating and forgery under the IPC and have been remanded in jail custody. The police also informed that Saksena has been operating from Delhi and is missing at present.

Pankaj Jani had applied for the loans in the names of other people but used his own pictures. Picture 1 is the photograph he used while applying in the name of Birendra Sadhu Shetty and Picture 3 while using the name of Santosh Mhatre. Picture 2 is the building in Navi Mumbai for which the loans were allegedly taken. Jani, who is part of a bigger racket, had taken two loans of (Rs 40 lakh and Rs 49 lakh) of the seven loans he had applied for. The others, which were pending, were for Rs 50 lakh, Rs 41 lakh, Rs 54 lakh, Rs 60 lakh and Rs 24 lakh

Banks to earn Rs 475 cr from DDA housing scheme charges

2008-09-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), advertised in newspaper about the sale of about 5,000 flats in the city. By inviting the applications for the flat DDA is going to make a big earning of about Rs 4.5 lakh per flat as interest on the money it collects as refundable registration fee.

The seven banks, who are mediating the scheme, are expected to collect in about Rs 250 crore by financing the applications.

The DDA is gathering an amount of over Rs 9,000 crore collected from more than 600,000 applicants who have submitted their forms along with the registration fee of Rs 1.5 lakh.

By the last date September 16 it is expected to puff up considerably. Approximately DDA will be taking three months to take out the computerized draw for the allotment of the flats, till that period money is going to remain with the authority on which it will be earning an interest of 10 per cent before refunding the money to the unsuccessful applicants, which means it would be richer by at least Rs 225 crore. This money will remain with the DDA for three months — the approximate time the authority will take for the allotment of the flats through a computerized draw.

This is going to add an extra earning of at least Rs 4.5 lakh per flat as interest on the registration amount, which is kept with the banks that are collecting the applications. If the rate of interest is 9 per cent, the DDA will be earning an extra profit of around Rs 4 lakh per flat.

The DDA has plans to use this money to buy land for low-income group housing schemes. “That’s the model we follow. The money from the registration fees will be used to buy land to build houses for low-income groups,” said DDA spokesperson Nimo Dhar.

The DDA has announced sale of freehold flats in various localities which are aimed to cater to the aam aadmi. The flats have been priced much below the market rates, creating a huge rush of applicants. The lower price tags of the flats clearly show that the DDA is a not-for-profit developer. “We are a no-profit-no-loss organization,” the spokesperson added.

Ramesh S Singh, additional general manager of Central Bank of India, one of the seven banks mediating for the housing scheme, said the response has been tremendous.

“Real estate prices are shooting up and many people find it beyond their means to buy residences built by private players. For this section, especially the middle class, DDA flats are the best option.” Singh says this time people are showing more interest in the scheme than in a similar scheme in 2004.

The scheme has come up at a time when housing loans have gone up as a result of the central bank raising the repo rate and the cash-reserve ratio to control inflation. The premium flats have become even dearer therefore more and more people are trying their luck in this category.

The huge demand for these DDA flats has turned into a risk-free business opportunity for the seven banks — State Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Union Bank of India, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank — who are mediating the DDA housing scheme.

HDFC Bank revised rates of Foreign Currency, Non-Resident, RFC, NRE, EEFC Deposits

2008-09-07T22:43:00.000-07:00

HDFC Bank the second largest private sector bank in the country has revised the interest rates of Foreign Currency, Non-Resident, RFC, NRE and EEFC Deposits. The rates will come into effect from September 1, 2008.

FCNR (B) deposits in US Dollar, having tenure of one year to less than two years, will have an interest rate of 2.45 per cent, while rate on the deposits with maturity of 2-3 years and 3-4 years has been set to 2.55 per cent and 2.88 per cent.

Bank sources said deposits having tenure of five years, will have an interest of 3.25 per cent.

Bank stated Euro deposits, having tenure of 1-2 year period, the revised rate was set at 4.57 per cent while for 2-3 years and 3-4 years, the interest rates will be 4.13 per cent and 4.02 per cent, respectively.

Bank further stated similarly for deposits in Pound, the rates have been revised to 5.27 per cent, for tenure 1-2 years whereas for maturities of 2-3 years and 3-4 years, rates have been revised to 4.65 per cent and 4.62 per cent respectively.

Bank sources said NRE deposits having a maturity period of 1-2 years the rates were revised the rates to 3.21 per cent while for 2-3 years and for the deposits with 3-5 years maturity period, the rates have been revised to 3.31 per cent and 3.63 per cent respectively.

Bank further added for Exchange Earners Foreign Currency (EEFC) deposits having maturity period of 30 days the rates on deposits will be 2.00 per cent whereas on 31-90 days the rates will be 2.24 per cent.

HDFC Bank BPO set up at Tirupati

2008-08-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

HDFC Bank is the second biggest private sector has set up first of its kind commercial scale rural BPO at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. Youths from weaker sections from nearby villages have been employed by the bank.

A Rajan, Country Head, Operations, HDFC Bank informed that BPO has been set up by the Bank’s subsidiary, ADFC and started operations in July. Through BPO several outsourced processing activities of the bank are being supported.

At present there 500 employees and by March 2009 the strength of the staff will be increased to over 1,500. This will be the largest rural BPO in the banking sector.

Explaining the underlying principle behind setting up a rural BPO, he said, "The bank is pioneering an initiative which has the potential to revolutionize rural India by taking job opportunities closer to the rural doorsteps, through economically viable projects."

He explained that bank will be able to achieve its goal without compromising on customer service levels and economic viability of the project.

He added on the success of this plan there is proposal of opening similar rural BPOs in other states also.

According to Rajan the BPO idea has huge potential and other banks, insurance companies; mutual funds can also think of financial outsourcing through rural BPOs which in turn will create more job opportunities in thousands in the hinterland.

The BPO has been set up at Tirupati which is a semi-urban area and the bank has managed to get broadband connection from BSNL.

HDFC Bank 48th branch inaugurated in Chennai

2008-08-27T00:22:00.000-07:00

HDFC Bank, is one of premier bank has opened its full-fledged branch in K K Nagar, Chennai.. Mr. Krishnaswamy Jambunathan, Director, Visteon Technical and Services Centre, Chennai inaugurated the new branch.

After the opening of this new branch HDFC banks branch network in South India will reach up to 345 branches. This new branch will be the 48th branch in Chennai and 79th branch in Tamil Nadu.

Through new branch office bank will be offering world class banking services to its customers – from basic banking services such as Savings Account, Fixed Deposits, Current Account, Mutual Funds, Lockers, NRI Services, Demat to sophisticated direct access banking channels such as ATM, PhoneBanking, NetBanking. Bank will be offering International Credit and Debit Cards.

Speaking at the inauguration function of the new branch, Mr. Navin Puri, Country Head, Branch Banking, HDFC Bank said, “Growing our network and expanding our reach has been the main focus of the bank. We see high market potential in this area and hence it is important that we further strengthen our presence and reach in Southern India. The new branch will offer a wide range of corporate and retail banking services. We are committed to offer our customers, world class financial products and services”.

Mr. C.S. Gopinath, Regional Head, A.P. & Chennai, HDFC Bank said, "We have received tremendous support from our customers in the South over the years. We would like the residents of Chennai to personally experience our excellent services and products much closer to home and make it a grand success."

HDFC Bank to increase branch network in north to increase access rural areas

2008-08-19T04:29:00.000-07:00

HDFC has been working on increasing its access in rural areas. Following on this strategy bank will be carrying out a rationalization and integration of its branch structure in the northern region in view of merger with Centurion Bank of Punjab (CBOP) this year.

"We are at the planning stage of rationalizing and integration of our branch network in north in wake of merger with CBOP in a bid to enhance our penetration especially in rural areas," HDFC Bank, Regional Head- North, Govind Pande said here today.

During this exercise bank will be carrying out a survey in which it will be identifying the branches of CBoP (which are now with HDFC) and HDFC bank in same area and then will be relocating one of the branches in other areas.

"There is no point in having two branches of CBoP and HFDC at one area. Therefore, we will see where one branch could be relocated and our effort would be to relocate in rural areas," he said.

He informed that as such before the merger, CBoP was having a stronghold in the north (with over 100 branches in Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh), in fact this exercise will be mainly concentrated to northern region only.

HDFC Bank also announced plans to open a new branch here which will be the 29th branch in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohal region.

HSBC launched 'HSBC Direct' for SMEs

2008-08-14T02:43:00.000-07:00

HSBC, foreign lender Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Co on Tuesday launched a new current account 'HSBC Direct'. The new account will be targeting small and medium enterprises.

Bank sources said in this new account a host of services will be given to the account holders. The bank is optimistic of getting more customer base in this segment.

"We hope to grow faster in gaining SME customer base after this new product. Currently, we are increasing our customer base by 10-15 per cent per month," HSBC India head SME business, B Khanna said here today.

Khanna gave the gross revenue figures for 2007 and said from SME it was Rs 300 crore but he did not gave out the revenue of the total commercial banking during the year.

Official Website: www.hsbc.co.in

HDFC Bank, BoB hike rates

2008-08-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

The country’s second largest private lender HDFC Bank and public sector players Bank of Baroda (BoB) and United Bank of India raised their prime lending rates by 50 to 75 basis points.

HDFC Bank raised its PLR by 50 basis points to 16.50 per cent 10 days after the Reserve Bank of India announced further monetary tightening in an attempt to fight inflation. The central bank had decided to raise the repo rate and the cash reserve ratio to 9 per cent each.

The private player raised the interest rate payable on deposits with maturities of over one year by up to 50 basis points. A deposit of over one year will earn at least 9 per cent per year, according to information posted on the HDFC Bank website.

The two public sector banks, however, did not hike deposit rates and also decided to keep home loans up to Rs 30 lakh – both new and existing -- outside the ambit of the latest revision. Are you looking for HDFC Home Loan rates which have been updated recently just check them here because before applying for the loan you need to verify the interest rates of that particular bank because once you select the loan it's very hard to switch the scheme.

Now, almost all banks – barring the country’s largest lender State Bank of India – have taken a cue from RBI’s monetary tightening and raised lending rates. While sources said SBI is expected to announce a 50 basis point increase, a formal word is awaited.

“This revision in lending rates has been done to partially overcome the adverse cost and profitability implications arising from monetary policy tightening measures announced by RBI,” BoB said.

While an HDFC Bank spokesperson did not share details, BoB said the cost of new home, auto and other consumer loans will go up 50 basis points.

HDFC, ICICI increase rates

2008-07-31T22:27:00.000-07:00

If you have taken a Rs 10 lakh home loan your EMI will increase by Rs 510 for a term outstanding of 20 years. This steep rise has come in the wake of the strong message sent out by the Reserve bank of India governor, Mr Y.V. Reddy that money should not be leant cheap.

The country’s two biggest home loan lenders HDFC and ICICI Bank announced a steep hike in interest rates on loans on Thursday.

HDFC has revised its floating interest rates on home loans for both existing and new customers by 0.75 per cent with effect from August 1, 2008, while ICICI Bank has increased its interest rates for various tenors of retail fixed deposits by 0.75 per cent to one per cent. It also increased its floating reference rate for consumer loans (including home loans from 13.50 per cent to 14.15 per cent. This follows the hike in the CRR and repo rate announced in the credit policy on Tuesday.

HDFC bank said "This is in line with the rates of interest in the economy, which have hardened due to the rising inflation and shrinking liquidity in the domestic market."

HDFC bank has increased its retail prime lending rate (RPLR) on which its adjustable rate home loans (ARHL) are benchmarked, by 0.75 per cent. It will affect existing borrowers whose loans come up for re-pricing on or after August 1, 2008. The bank said it follows a three month reset cycle for its floating rate.

Consumer Forum directed HDFC bank to pay 7,000

2008-07-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Fatehgarh Sahib has directed Mandi Gobindgarh branch of HDFC Bank to make payment of Rs 7,000 to Balaji Enterprises, Sirhind for mental agony and harassment and Rs 500 as cost of the complaint.

It was alleged that the firm through its proprietor Sham Lal Gupta that he has current account with the bank and an agent of the bank came to him and assured him that he will to provided with CC limit of Rs 10 lakh so he completed all the formalities and the bank had got a cheque of Rs 2245 dt April 17, 2007 as processing fee from the complainant and the amount was duly transferred to the bank account. He alleged that even after one month the bank had not issued the credit limit to him despite that fact that he had completed all the formalities.

The notice was sent to bank but none has appeared on behalf of the bank so the bank was proceeded against ex-party.

While accepting the complaint, the Forum president also directed the bank though its Branch Manger to process the case of the complainant and pass final order for providing facility of cash credit limit of Rs 10 lakh within 15 days from the receipt of the copy of order. The Forum also observed that in case the complainant is not satisfied with the final order passed by the bank, he is permitted to challenge the same by filing a separate complaint.

Bankers feel the heat as home loan queries fall

2008-06-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

There is a slump in the market and its direct impact can be seen on the housing loans section of different banking divisions. According to many officials in the home loans divisions, the walk-in and enquiries have gone down by 50 per cent in many places.

One of the officials with Corporation Bank said that there is a major slump in the housing loans enquiries and even the walk-ins have reduced. "The property market has been affected badly because of various reasons resulting which the home loan divisions has been affected," said the official.

Apart from reasons like inflation and rise in home loan rates, another reason is that the affordability has also gone down said another official from HDFC home loans. He added that the enquiries and final confirmation is not as same as those that were there in the last few weeks. "When the property market had been good about three weeks back the walk-in had been much better as compared to the scene now," he said adding that on a positive note one also feels that probably the increasing competition in the home loan market is one of the reasons for this fall.

Avers an official from Reliance Capital who said that there is a fall in enquiries but the change is marginal. "There is probably a 30 per cent fall as compared to the last few weeks," he said adding that enquiries cannot be a basis as people have now become net savvy and can get all the details over the world wide web. "There is no need for most of them to visit the bank and it is only the final stages when they come for loan and that has fallen in the last few weeks. Where there were 15 forms about few weeks back filled confirming the loan, now it has become 10 forms," said the Reliance Capital official.

HDFC Bank drops on hike in lending rate

2008-06-24T02:51:00.000-07:00

The bank made this announcement after trading hours on Friday, 20 June 2007.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 146.44 points, or 1.01%, to 14,424.32.

On BSE, 30,346 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 1.1 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 1,100.05 and a low of Rs 1,075 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 1,825 on 14 January 2008 and a 52 week low of 1,050.30 on 17 August 2007.

India’s second largest private sector bank in terms of net profit had underperformed the market over the past one month till 20 June 2008, declining 20.36% compared to the Sensex’s decline of 13.82%. It had also underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 13.47% compared to Sensex’s fall of 2.82%.

The bank has an equity capital of Rs 354.73 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.

The current price of Rs 1,087.50 discounts its Q4 March 2008 annualised EPS of Rs 53.17, by a PE multiple of 20.45.

The HDFC bank has also upped its deposit rates by 25 basis points across different tenures. The hikes come into effect from 18 June 2008.

Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday, 11 June 2008, hiked repo rate by 25 basis points to 8% with immediate effect in an effort to contain rising inflation. The repo rate is the rate at which Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lends money to banks under its liquidity adjustment facility. The repo rate increase was announced after market hours on Wednesday (11 June 2008) and came outside a scheduled policy review. The repo rate is now at its highest since November 2002.

As per reports, several banks are reviewing their interest rate structures and are expected to take a call soon on whether to raise their rates or not.

HDFC Bank’s net profit rose 37.1% to Rs 471.11 crore on 51% rise in operating income to Rs 3,505.52 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.

HDFC Bank is one of the leading private sector banks in India.

Markets recover; HDFC Bank up 5.3%

2008-06-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

Markets are trading firm in the noon deals of Tuesday with the benchmark index Sensex gaining 164 points or 1.1 per cent. It is trading at 15,560 levels.

Broader market index Nifty also gained 36 points or 0.8 per cent and it is trading at 4608 levels.

“Markets are moving in line with crude movement and I expect it to be range bound in the coming days. We are witnessed huge selling on rise. I won’t advice sugar stocks at the current levels,” said Sandeep Wagle, Chief Technical Analyst, Angel Broking.

Buying is evident in realty, capital goods, IT and banking stocks by over 0.4 per cent each.

Other Asian markets are trading weak on Tuesday. South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei are trading in red territory by over 0.4 per cent each.

HDFC Bank at Rs 1211 jumped 5.3 per cent or Rs 60 and it is the biggest gainer among the BSE-30 scrips. Other major gainers in this pack are Housing Development Finance, State Bank of India and L&T.

HDFC bank expanding its network in Valley

2008-06-04T04:03:00.000-07:00

Emerging as the fast growing private sector bank in the valley since its operation in the valley, HDFC bank is expanding its network with setting up of four new branches and on and off site ATMs this month. Starting its operation in 2005 in the valley, the bank has achieved a clientele of more than 20,000 in just two branches.The Bank is expected to increase its customer base with the opening of four branches within next two months. Off site ATM is also being introduced at the Airport Road, Srinagar. Zubair Iqbal, Assistant vice president Jammu and Kashmir and north Punjab told Etalaat that growing response of the people towards the products and services of the Bank has led to the creation of more branches across valley .He said that three new branches at Islamabad, Sopore and Maharaj Gunj will start functioning from the third week of this month while another branch at Karan Nagar will be functional in August this year.

“The response we have received during last 4 years shows that people are satisfied with our products and services. In order to broaden our reach in valley we have decided to set up four more branches , two in Srinagar and one each in north and south Kashmir,” Iqbal said.
“We are expecting a good response from the new branches as people from Sopore and Islamabad are approaching us and expressing their desire to open accounts,” he said, adding the new branches will have on spot ATMs for the convenience of its customers.

Iqbal said that bank is also introducing off site ATMs at hyderpora, airport road for the convenience of the customers. He said that HDFC is the only bank in valley that has tie- up with asset management companies (AMCs) and is authorized to sell their products and services.

“We are the first bank to introduce net banking and mutual fund investments in valley. We are also authorized to sell the products and services of AMCs,” He added.
With the expansion of the network, the total number of branches of the bank in the Valley will go upto seven. Presently the bank has two branches, one at Residency Road and another at Hari Singh high Street with three on site ATMs. The Bank is expected to have fifteen branches in the Valley by 2009.

In 2007 HDFC Bank acquired Centurion Bank of Punjab taking its total branches to more than 1,200. Though, the official license was given to Centurion Bank of Punjab branches, to continue working as HDFC Bank branches, on May 23, 2008.

“We have acquired Centurion Bank of Punjab and from May 23 last month, their branches have started operating by the title of HDFC,” Iqbal said.

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank see sharp fall

2008-05-26T04:01:00.000-07:00

US stocks ended lower last week as high oil prices refreshed investors’ worries on inflation and consumer spending. The S&P 500 fell 3.5 per cent, which according to Bloomberg, was the steepest decline since the first week of February, to 1,375.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.9 per cent to 12,479.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 3.3 per cent to 2,444.67.

Foreign institutional investors’ selling coupled with weak global cues affected the sentiment in the Indian markets. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex slumped by 4.5 per cent and the NSE’s S&P CNX Nifty by 4.09 per cent.

Among the ADRs, only Dr Reddy’s Laboratories was able to finish in the green. The ADR jumped 5.18 per cent to end the week at $16.01 against the previous week’s close of $15.22. The company last week announced the launch of Omez Insta, a powder formulation that offers relief to gastritis, following which the ADR moved up sharply. Earlier during the week, the company announced a 40 per cent drop in net profit for the quarter ended March 30, 2008 at Rs 162 crore (Rs 269 crore), as sales growth slowed in the key US market. Income fell 9.8 per cent to Rs 1,038 crore.

Banking counters – ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank – were the biggest losers on rising inflation. The ADR of ICICI Bank fell by 11 per cent and the latter by 8.29 per cent.

IT counters also witnessed a fall of around 5-6 per cent. The ADR of Infosys Technologies was the biggest loser among them, which fell by 6.28 per cent. Satyam Computer slipped 5.3 per cent, Patni Computers by 5.19 per cent and Wipro by 3 per cent.

Telecommunications counter MTNL and Tata Communications (erstwhile VSNL) fell by 3.5 per cent and one per cent respectively.

Tata Motors also witnessed sharp fall of about 5.25 per cent at $15.18 ($16.02) on the back of surge in crude price, which could slow down the growth of auto sector. Fall in metal prices at the LME appeared to have weakened Sterlite Industries’ ADR, which slipped by 2.42 per cent at $21.29 ($21.82).

RBI approves merger of CBoP with HDFC Bank

2008-05-21T03:47:00.000-07:00

Reserve Bank of India has approved the merger of Centurion Bank of Punjab with HDFC Bank and the amalgamation would be effective from May 23.

"The RBI hereby sanctions the appended scheme of amalgamation of CBoP (Transferor Bank) with the HDFC Bank Ltd (Transferee Bank). The scheme shall come into effect from May 23," HDFC Bank said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The boards of HDFC Bank and CBoP had given in-principle approval for the merger of both the banks in February.

Following the in-principle nod, HDFC Bank had approved the share swap ratio of 1:29.

As per the ratio CBoP shareholder would get one share of HDFC bank for every 29 shares held.

With the merger, the combined entity will have a nationwide network of 1,148 branches and the deposits would climb up to Rs 1,20,000 crore.

At the same time, advances of the combined entity would touch Rs 85,000 crore while the balance-sheet size would swell to Rs 1,50,000 crore.

In a bid to maintain the promoter's holding at 23.2 per cent in the merged entity, HDFC Bank made a preferential offer of about 2.62 crore convertible warrants to its promoter Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd.

HDFC has to pump in Rs 4,000 crore to retain its holding in the bank. According to the rules, 10 per cent of this amount should be paid within 15 days after receiving the RBI approval for the merger.

HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri will head the merged bank, while Jagdish Capoor will continue as non- executive Chairman.