HDFC Bank – Milestones 1995-2020

Housing Development Finance Corporation mostly known as HDFC Bank is one of India’s leading private banks and was amongst the first to receive ‘in principle’ approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a bank in the private sector, as part of the RBI’s liberalization of the Indian Banking Industry in 1994.

As on 31^st March, 2021, HDFC bank has a banking network of 5,653 branches and 16,291 ATMs in 2,917 cities/towns nationwide. As on 31^st December, 2021 the authorized share capital of the HDFC Bank is Rs. 650 crore. The paid-up share capital of the HDFC Bank as on the said date is Rs. 550,76,56,932 comprising of 550,76,56,932 equity shares of the face value of Re 1/- each. The HDFC Group holds 21.15% of the Bank’s equity and about 18.67% of the equity is held by the ADS Depositories (in respect of the Bank’s American Depositary Shares (ADS). 32.01% of the equity is held by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and the Bank has 13,49,591 shareholders.

1995 – 2000

·         HDFC Bank received a Banking License in January 1995.

·         HDFC Bank launched its first IPO in March 1995.

·         First Corporate Office and Full Services Branches opened February 1995.

·         Listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in May 1995 and National Stock Exchange (NSE) in November 1995.

·         Maiden dividend of 8% announced on equity shares at the end of the Financial Year in March 1997.

·         New logo launched in 1997 which underwent a minor change in 1998.

·         Merger of Times Bank in HDFC Bank through share swap deal in banking industry for first time in 1999.

·         In November 1999, HDFC Bank launched its international debit card in India in association with Visa International.

·         Become First Bank in India to launch SMS Based Mobile Banking in India in 2000.

2001 – 2005

·         Become first private bank in India to be authorized to collect Income Tax for Central Government in 2001.

·         On July 20, 2001, HDFC Bank listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

·         In 2002, HDFC Bank got ISO 9001 certification for its depository and customer operations.

·         By July 2004, HDFC Bank became the first bank in the country to offer credit cards in over 100 cities. Also launched The Health Plus Gold Credit Card India’s first credit card with free in-built cashless mediclaim.

2006 – 2010

·         On International Women’s Day, Two new cards –exclusively for women launched in 2006

·         HDFC Bank approved the acquisition of Centurion Bank of Punjab in 2009.

·         First full-fledged overseas branch was opened in Bahrain in 2009.

·         Become first bank in Asia to launch customized transactions on ATMs in 2010.

2011 – 2015

·         Launched nationwide sports initiative – Josh Unlimited – covering 8 cities, drawing participation from 8,000 employees in 2012.

·         According to the Reserve Bank of India, HDFC bank Became largest issuer of Credit Cards in the country – over 5.5 million outstanding credit cards at the end of October 2014.

·         Launched its first sonic branding (musical logo), Mogo to be used across multiple touch points like ATMs, phone banking, mobile banking app and the website.

·         Launched 10 – second loan approval service made HDFC Bank the first in the retail lending space to fully automate the process of loan approval and disbursement.

·          HDFC Bank launched the first-of-its-kind services, chillr and PayZapp, as part of its ‘Go Digital’ campaign.

2016 – 2020

·         HDFC Bank launched the first-of-its-kind services – Missed Call Mobile Recharge.

·         Introduced Loans at ATM as the country’s first innovation to turn ATMs into Loan Dispensing Machines (LDMs).

·         The first-of-its-kind interactive humanoid IRA (Intelligence Robotic Assistant) was launched by HDFC Bank under the ‘Project AI’.

·         India’s first AI-based chatbot for customer service EVA launched.

·         The Digital Loans Against Securities (Digital LAS) service, the first of its kind was launched.

·         ZIIEI (The zero Investment Innovations for Education Initiatives) is the largest education initiative of its kind in India by HDFC Bank.

·         HDFC Bank became the first bank to introduce a DigiPOS machine on 22^nd August 2017 thus boosting digital boosting.

·         IRA 2.0 launched to enhance the user experience for customers visiting the Koramangala branch in Bengaluru.

·         HDFC Bank successfully integrated its virtual assistant EVA with Alexa, making it the first bank to offer voice banking experience on the platform.

·        HDFC Bank launched the Accelerator Engagement Program (AEP) under the Bank’s Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE) to access innovative fintech ideas globally.

·         HDFC Bank joined hands with Bombay Stock Exchange to encourage more start-ups to get listed in 2019.

·         HDFC Bank initiated parivartan grants offered to 25 social sector start-ups.

·         HDFC Bank released its 1^st Integrated Performance Report.

·         Collaborated with MEITY to promote startups.

·         1^st Edition of API banking summit launched.

·         MYAPPS a suite of customized mobile Apps for larger institutions launched into B2B2C space.