Deepak Parekh Reveals: The Day ICICI Tried to Make HDFC ‘Come Home’

Here’s something you might not have heard: Deepak Parekh, the former chairman of HDFC, recently shared that ICICI Bank once tried to acquire HDFC. The proposal came from Chanda Kochhar, who was leading ICICI Bank at the time. Parekh turned it down, saying it just didn’t feel right, especially considering HDFC’s strong brand and legacy.

 

Instead of joining hands with ICICI, HDFC went on to merge with its own banking arm, HDFC Bank. That merger, which wrapped up in July 2023, created India’s largest private lender. It wasn’t just a business decision—regulatory pressure played a big part, since the Reserve Bank of India had classified HDFC as a systemically important non-banking financial company.

 

Parekh also pointed out that while the RBI supported the merger, HDFC didn’t get any special treatment or extra time to complete the process. For him, the merger marked a major milestone in HDFC’s journey—from being a pioneer in home loans to becoming a heavyweight in the financial world.

 

This behind-the-scenes story highlights just how carefully HDFC guarded its identity and how major decisions were made with the company’s legacy in mind.

 

Source: Times of India, CNBC-TV18, Economic Times