It is the story of the most valued Indian bank
that disrupted itself to avoid being disrupted. The book narrates the story
warts and all and the author has not taken any stance. I appreciate the author
for his deep research and excellent story telling ability.
I was a guest invitee at the book launch. The
launch took place at Indian International Center, New Delhi, on July 16, in the
presence of many renowned personalities.
As we all are aware digital banking in India
is moving fast with the banks adopting newer technologies to cut cost and raise
the quality of services offered to customers both in terms of speed and array
of products. Digital banking has resulted in reducing costs drastically and has
helped generate revenue through various channels.
The story of HDFC Bank is the story of modern
India. This book narrates its transformation from being a start-up in 1994 to
striding like a colossus across the Indian banking sector in two and a half
decades.
The Trip that decided Digital Disruptions:
The story of transformation started in
September 2014, when Aditya Puri took a trip to California, to get a first-hand
experience of how fintech companies were changing the face of banking with fund
transfers, mobile banking and shopping. Mr. Puri decided that they would rather
disrupt themselves then be disrupted. He realized that digitization will help
them in reducing the cost and bring in efficiency in making decisions. In order
to minimize errors and speed up the process, the bank needs technology without
compromising on quality of service.
HDFC Bank first tied up with Chillr,
an app that sends money over the phone using UPI platform. Bharat
QR – a code based payments service named PayZapp is very popular in stores.
In a couple of branches, indigenously built IRA robots were deployed to answer
client queries. In 2015, the bank introduced a marketplace platform called SmartBuy,
making everything available at one place and customers have the advantage of
discounts and reward points. It started transforming itself from a “Life
Cycle” bank to a “Lifestyle” bank as they made it possible. When the customers
want to do anything related to money HDFC Bank should be the default option.
Mr. Puri wanted a free hand to run the bank.
The others were permitted to express their opinions but he was clear that there
could be only one boss and that was him. Under his strong leadership the team
made it possible that it could offer most of the things that a foreign bank
could offer in the Indian market at lower cost.
Work Life Balance Lesson from Puri’s legacy:
The key to Mr. Puri’s legendary work- life
balance is that he just does not let his life get complicated by the things
that are not important. He has shown his distinct ability and proved that work
and life can be balanced easily. Action is the duty, reward is not the concern.
This is the genesis of his working style.
About the book:
Tamal Bandyopadhyay’s latest book, HDFC Bank
2.0: From Dawn to Digital is published by Jaico Publishing House. The book was
launched by Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor Government of
India at Indian International Centre, New Delhi. Aditya Puri, Managing
Director, HDFC Bank Ltd and many key leaders in the financial services
industry were present at the launch. Tamal Banyopadhyay has been a bestselling
author, award-winning columnist and a keen observer of the Indian banking
sector, for over two decades.
“Tamal combines his financial knowledge, eye for detail, and an
excellent storytelling style to create a vivid portrait of India’s most valued
bank and its path to the future,” says
~ NANDAN NILEKANI, Co-founder and Chairman of Infosys and
Founding Chairman of UIDAI (Aadhaar), in his foreward to the book.
Bottom Line:
This book is not a sponsored project. While
highlighting the distinctive characteristics of the bank, Tamal also criticizes
the unforgivable mistakes made by HDFC Bank during this journey through his
excellent storytelling. At the age of 69, Puri is the longest serving head
of a bank of this size gloabally. It is difficult to imagine HDFC Bank without Mr.
Puri, but next year he is set to retire. Will HDFC Bank’s growth lose steam
without him? To know the journey and prospects of HDFC Bank, I recommend the
book of Tamal Bandyopadhyay. After reading of the book, you will be able to
analyse the potential of HDFC Bank and also get the larger perspective of
Indian banking. The flow of language is
marvelous. You will not be able to leave the book in your study after reading a
few pages. You will be finish it reading the whole book probably at go. I can
vouch for this. The book is available for order at all leading book store and
also on Amazon and Flipkart.
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