The mortgage lender’s books are not in the pink of health. A merger offers its chairman a shot at glory.
No one turns down Deepak Parekh, the non-executive chairman of Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd, India’s biggest home loan lender. After all, he is among the most respected executives in the corporate world, credited with having laid the foundation of the mortgage loan business in the country and on the boards of several companies.
Yet, it turns out that in 2017, when Parekh broached the subject of a merger between HDFC with its more valuable listed subsidiary HDFC Bank, to create India’s most valuable financial entity, it was shot down quietly.
In banking circles, the reasons for this were ascribed …
Surendar helps lead the newsroom at The Morning Context as executive editor. Over the years, Surendar has worked in industries from pharmaceuticals to diamonds, as well as a stint as an equity analyst. In his long career as a business journalist, he has led teams at The Times of India, India Today and Fortune India. He was part of the founding team at Forbes India and interned at and published in The Times, London.
Executive Editor
surendar@mailtmc.com
Mumbai
Furquan leads the banking coverage at The Morning Context. A business journalist with eight years of experience and a best-selling author, in his earlier stints as a reporter with the Deccan Herald and a columnist at The Banker, he wrote on banking, financial markets and regulatory affairs. He has extensively covered India's debt market crisis, banking crisis and the fall of Yes Bank.
Editor, Banking
furquan@mailtmc.com
Delhi