HDFC Bank managing director and CEO Aditya Puri has sold shares worth well over $2 Billion of the country’s largest private sector lender. Mr Puri sold 7.4 million HDFC Bank shares between July 21 and July 24, for a total consideration of $2 Billion plus, BSE data showed.
Aditya Puri, managing director and chief executive officer of the country’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank NSE 0.66 % has sold 95% of his stake
Mr. Aditya Puri – The CEO
Aditya Puri is the Managing Director of HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank. He assumed this position in September 1994, with a vision to create a “World Class Indian Bank. Puri is the longest-serving head of any private bank in the country. India Today magazine ranked him #24th in India’s 50 Most Powerful People of 2017 list.
He has worked in the banking sector for 40 years, in India and other countries. He became CEO of Citibank, Malaysia in 1992. In September 1994 he returned to India as Managing Director of HDFC Bank.
He presided over HDFC’s acquisitions of Times Bank Limited in 2000 and of Centurion Bank of Punjab in 2008.
In August 2019 he was reported to be the most highly paid CEO of any Indian bank with a monthly salary of US$120,000.
Mr Aditya Puri’s Accolades
Puri was the highest-paid banker among the top bankers for FY2019-20. His salary and prerequisites increased 38 per cent to from the previous year.
He has led HDFC Bank to be the country’s largest and most valuable bank, on the back of a strict hold over asset quality.
Prior to joining HDFC Bank, Mr Puri was the CEO of Citibank, Malaysia from 1992 to 1994.
The bank had last week reported its Q1 FY20 results with a 19.6 per cent increase in net profit from Q1 FY19 to Q1 FY20.
Moreover, its net interest income increased 17.8 per cent from Rs 13,294.3 crore an year-ago period on the back of growth in advances of 20.9 per cent to and deposits of 24.6 per cent . Its asset quality also improved slightly with gross NPAs standing at 1.36 per cent of gross advances as on June 30, 2020, in comparison to 1.40 per cent as on June 30, 2019. Net NPAs of the bank was 0.33 per cent of net advances as on June 30, 2020.
Who succeeds Mr Puri as the CEO?
HDFC Bank has been looking for a candidates to succeed Mr Puri, who is scheduled to retire in October this year.
Earlier, in April, HDFC Bank had informed exchanges that its board had finalised three candidates to succeed Aditya Puri, without disclosing their names, saying they will be communicated to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Market watchers are keenly awaiting any news developments on his successor, as it is one of the most coveted jobs in the country’s banking sector, according to analysts.
HDFC Bank’s board had appointed a search committee and also engaged external headhunters to search a candidate to succeed Mr Puri.
Mr Puri has more than four decades of experience in banking both within the country and abroad.
What happened after the shares were sold?
Shares of HDFC Bank on Monday declined over 3% after its CEO and MD Aditya Puri sold shares worth ₹842.87 crore last week.
The stock dipped 3.55% to ₹1,079 on the BSE.
At the NSE, it declined 3.5% to ₹1,080.
The share sale cut Mr. Puri’s holding in the lender to just 0.01% from the earlier 0.14%, according to regulatory filings.
The sale comes months ahead of Mr. Puri’s retirement from the bank that he led to become the largest by assets among private lenders and the second-largest overall over 25 years.
A bank spokesperson said the shares were allotted to Mr. Puri over a period of time at different price points and were not given at par with the face value of the shares.
Also Read : News Highlights From July 2020
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