HDFC Bank starts rebranding HDFC Ltd offices, branches after merger

Mumbai: HDFC Bank started rebranding offices of erstwhile HDFC Ltd with its colours on Saturday, on the first day of operations as a merged entity.

Branding at all over the 500 offices and branches of the home loan major started getting the HDFC Bank look from Saturday morning onwards, officials said. The entire exercise of changing the look at HDFC Ltd's offices and branches is slated to take about 24 hours, they said, adding that HDFC Ltd's corporate headquarters at Ramon House is among the places where the branding has already been changed. HDFC Ltd, the parent of the country's largest private sector lender, merged into HDFC Bank on Saturday, with boards of both the entities clearing the plan first presented on April 4 last year. HDFC Ltd, the largest pure-play home financier, ceases to exist 44 years after it was founded. Sashidhar Jagdishan, the managing director and chief executive of the HDFC Bank, is slated to address a townhall later in the evening. Over 3,500 employees of HDFC have been integrated into HDFC Bank after the merger.

The USD 40-billion merger, the largest such deal in Indian corporate history, is driven by a changing regulatory landscape, which limited the advantages for HDFC continuing as a non-bank lending entity. Post-merger, HDFC Bank will become the fourth most valued lender in the world, and narrow the gap by asset size with state-owned SBI to be the second largest Indian bank. The total business of the merged entity stood at Rs 41 lakh crore at the end of March 2023. With the merger, the networth of the entity would be over Rs 4.14 lakh crore.

The combined profit of both entities was to the tune of about Rs 60,000 crore at the end of March 2023. With the deal getting effective, HDFC Bank will be 100 per cent owned by public shareholders, and existing shareholders of HDFC will own 41 per cent of the bank. Every HDFC shareholder will get 42 shares of HDFC Bank for every 25 shares they hold. "Saturday, July 1, 2023, to be the 'Effective Date' of the composite scheme of amalgamation, on which date the certified order of the NCLT sanctioning the Scheme will be filed by HDFC Investments, HDFC Holdings, HDFC Limited and HDFC Bank with the RoC," HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing late on Friday.

The board of directors of HDFC Bank in consultation with the board of directors of HDFC Limited has fixed July 13, 2023, for determining the shareholders of HDFC Ltd who would be issued and allotted the shares of HDFC Bank, it added. Besides, July 13 has been fixed for the continuation of warrants of HDFC Limited in the name of HDFC Bank. The board has fixed July 12, 2023, for the transfer of non-convertible debentures while July 7 for the transfer of commercial papers of HDFC Ltd in the name of HDFC Bank.

The merged entity brings together significant complementarities that exist between both entities and is poised to create meaningful value for various stakeholders, including respective customers, employees and shareholders of both entities from increased scale, comprehensive product offering, balance sheet resiliency and ability to drive synergies across revenue opportunities, operating efficiencies and underwriting efficiencies, a statement said. In the statement issued on Friday, Jagdishan said the combined strength will help create a holistic ecosystem of financial services.

"We're truly happy to welcome the talented team of HDFC Ltd into the HDFC Bank family. I believe our journey will be defined by agility, adaptability, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. As we navigate the path ahead, we will embrace challenges as opportunities, learn from our experiences, and strive to be the benchmark of success and integrity in the financial services industry," he said.