After a major merger, HDFC restructures its top management

4 Oct 2023 , 10:40 AM

Three months after the merger, HDFC Bank Ltd. is overhauling key aspects of top management as it attempts to grow its mortgage business in India.

News reports said that the bank informed staff of the changes in a memo late on Sunday.

As the bank relies on technology to deliver more products and services across its branches, the individuals said Ramesh Lakshminarayanan and the information technology and digital operations have been placed under Chief Executive Officer Sashidhar Jagdishan. 

They also said that Ashish Parthasarthy, a bank veteran who has overseen treasury since 2009, will be in charge of the crucial retail branch operation, which manages deposits and product distribution.

Since the lender acquired Housing Development Finance Corp. in July, elevating HDFC to the status of one of the biggest banks in the world, the stock price of the lender has been under pressure. Additionally, Nomura Holdings Inc. downgraded it last month, citing pressure on loan growth and worries about HDFC’s return on assets.

To capitalise on a surge in home loans and consumer spending in the largest economy with the fastest rate of growth in the world, HDFC agreed last April to buy the nation’s largest mortgage lender in a deal estimated to be worth nearly $60 billion. The two businesses, which at the time had a combined market value of about $190 billion, merged after the banking regulator suggested they become banks in order to prevent a repeat of the country’s severe shadow lending crisis in 2018.

According to news reports, Parthasarthy is dividing the geographical management of the retail branch business in order to handle its expansion and product plans in a more organised manner. Sampath Kumar and Smita Bhagat will share leadership of it.

The bank’s retail assets, excluding mortgages, which will continue to be managed by Arvind Kapil as previously stated, will be supervised by Arvind Vohra, who most recently oversaw the retail branch division.

With an increased portfolio, Parag Rao, who formerly oversaw payments, consumer finance, and digital banking, will take charge of product liabilities in addition to product management, which includes marketing.

According to the reports, Rakesh Singh would continue to oversee private banking and investment banking while also taking on more responsibility for the offshore international operations.

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