HDFC Bank and mortgage lender HDFC Ltd to merge

India’s largest private lender HDFC Bank will merge with housing finance firm HDFC Ltd, the companies said on Monday.

As part of the deal, shareholders of HDFC Ltd will receive 42 shares of the bank for 25 shares held. Existing shareholders of HDFC Ltd will own 41 per cent of HDFC Bank. Shares held by the housing finance company in the lender will be extinguished, making HDFC Bank a full-fledged public company, Reuters reported.

The subsidiaries and associates of HDFC Ltd will shift to HDFC Bank, the companies said in a regulatory filing. “The merger—subject to regulatory approval–is coming together of equals. The customer will be the biggest gainer,” said Keki Mistry, vice chairman and chief executive officer of HDFC, in an investor call.

Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC Limited, called the arrangement “a merger of equals”.

“Over the last few years, various regulations for banks and NBFCs have been harmonised, thereby enabling the potential merger. Further, the resulting larger balance sheet would allow underwriting of large ticket infrastructure loans, accelerate the pace of credit growth in the economy, boost affordable housing and increase the quantum of credit to the priority sector, including credit to the agriculture sector,” said Parekh, according to moneycontrol.com.

Rajnish Kumar, a former chairperson of State Bank of India, told CNBC-TV18 the combined entity will give “advantage of cost efficiencies”.

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