Hdfc Bank CEO Says “Clear Focus on Digitization and Aim to Become Like a Fintech”

On July 17, HDFC Bank Managing Director and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan claimed that over the past 26 years, the lender has invested in technology well in advance and is clearly focused on digitization and improving productivity without laying off workers.

“Our goal is to become like a fintech,” he told HDFC Bank’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).

He was confident, however, that the bank would rebound soon. “We were one of the latest entrants to the credit card business, we have become # 1 in the last 17 to 18 years,” he said.

Speaking about the tech ban, Jagdishan admitted that the regulator pulled the bank for good reason. “We noticed that our recovery time from outages did not meet global standards. Have a clear plan that is monitored at the board level for the technology transformation, ”he said at the AGM.

He added that the technological transformation will not happen overnight, but will take 12 to 15 months.

Commenting on the Mastercard ban, Jagdishan said the bank is protected from its impact. HDFC Bank’s open architecture allows it to easily pair with other card networks, he said.

“Both for Exercise 21 and throughout this exercise, we are still in an unprecedented period. People who had to move to meet clients were only allowed 40 days out of the first quarter of fiscal 22, ”Jagdishan said, hoping the bank will rebound reasonably well when normalcy returns.

Speaking about the companies’ monetization plans, he said it was too premature to think about monetizing HDFC Sec Ltd.

“HDB Financial Services is aimed at the segment that has been affected by the pandemic. The losses of HDB customers in the lower segment are 4 to 5 times what we normally see, ”he said at the AGM.

He added that although there are no monetization plans for HDB yet; the bank can try to find out the prices first. “We’re going to watch how HDB Financial Services recovers in a normal environment and then consider listing it,” he said.

(Edited by : Kanishka Sarkar)

First publication: Jul 17, 2021, 19:42 STI