Deepak Parekh, chairman, HDFC Ltd is no new name to the financial world. While taking over the reigns he said, ?Taking over from HT Parekh is a formidable task; his vision brought about not only an institution but an entire concept, which has proved to be of lasting importance.?

Brand HDFC boasts of a mutual fund, life and non-life insurances businesses, and a bank. HDFC Bank was the first to receive an ?in principle? approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a bank in the private sector, when the doors of liberalisation were opened in the banking sector in 1994. HDFC Bank commenced operations as a Scheduled Commercial Bank in January 1995 with an authorised capital of Rs 450 crore and a paid-up capital of Rs 311.9 crore. HDFC Group holds 22.1% of the bank?s equity, the ADS Depository holds about 19.4% of the equity, roughly 31.3% of the equity is held by foreign institutional investors, and the bank has around 1,90,000 shareholders.

?We were amongst the first to enter into a merger in the private sector with Times Bank in 1999. HDFC Bank was looking for an appropriate merger opportunity that would add scale, geography, and experienced staff to its franchise. This opportunity arose and we thought it is an attractive route to supplement HDFC Bank?s organic growth. We believe that Centurion Bank of Punjab would be the right fit in terms of culture, strategic intent, and approach to business,? says Parekh.

For the managing director, Aditya Puri, its was choosing the best among the other banks he had in mind. ?We examined a lot of other banks before identifying Centurion Bank of Punjab. We are now in the process of gaining a larger market share by way of different businesses, including personal loans, credit cards, and cash management, and will spread our wings overseas to make our mark there. We are in the race for further mergers and acquisitions as soon as we find one,? he admits.

The shares of the bank are listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. The bank?s American Depository Shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol ?HDB?. On February 25, 2008, the boards of HDFC Bank and Centurion Bank of Punjab approved the share swap ratio for the proposed merger of Centurion Bank of Punjab with HDFC Bank. The Scheme of Amalgamation envisages a share exchange ratio of one share of HDFC Bank for twenty-nine shares of the Centurion Bank of Punjab. This deal is the largest merger in the private sector banking space in India.

The combined entity now has a nationwide network of 1,148 branches, a strong deposit base of around Rs 1,20,000 crore, and net advances of around Rs 85,000 crore. Rana Talwar, the then chairman of Centurion Bank of Punjab, found a treasure in HDFC Bank, after taking his bank to an attractive buy level. ?Centurion Bank of

Punjab had set benchmarks for growth. The bank has a large nationwide network, a valuable franchise, 7,500 talented employees, and strong leadership positions in the marketplace. I believe that the merger will create a world class bank in quality and scale and will set the stage to compete with banks both locally and globally.?

HDFC Bank has registered a 45.23% rise in its net profit at Rs 429.36 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, as against a Rs 295.64-crore profit earned during the corresponding period last year. The total income earned during the quarter was Rs 3,405.79 crore, net interest income was Rs 1,437.60 crore, and the net interest margin of the bank remained at 4.3%. As on December 31, 2007, the net non-performing assets ratio of the bank was 0.4% and the capital adequacy ratio was 13.8%. With savings account deposits of Rs 24,961 crore and current account deposits of Rs 25,602 crore, HDFC Bank?s CASA mix remained at around 50.9% of the total deposits as on December 31, 2007.