VisVoice

  Getting a 'certificate' on Corporate Governance: HDFC Bank may be the pioneer I. Perplexed: I was surprised, when HDFC Bank (Bank) informed the stock exchanges that the bank's board, in order to reinforce the robust governance, took a proactive step and approved the appointment of external law firms to conduct ‘review’ regarding Mr. Chakraborty’s (ex-chairman) resignation letter. (In the resignation letter, Mr. Chakraborty mentioned that  certain happenings and practices within the bank in the last two years that were not in congruence with his personal views and ethics and he quoted them as the basis for his decision to resign). I was perplexed because, the legal firms engaged for the purpose might find it  difficult to come to a meaningful conclusion about the veracity of the reasons, cited in the resignation letter, from the following available 'material' records . 1. Discussions in the board meetings: Normally all decisions approved in the bank's board ar...

First meeting of MPC - FY26-27   Status quo assumed: Interested in projections  The 60th bi-monthly review meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the first one for the current financial year  (FY 26-27) begins  tomorrow. Main Points for discussion while reviewing the policy rate:   1. Even as CPI inflation is on the rise since Dec 25 (2.74 in Jan 26 and 3.21 in Feb 26), the inflation rate continues to be less than the target rate of 4%. CPI inflation is now calculated based on changes in the base year. The GDP growth up to Feb 26 promised a growth rate of above 7% for FY 26. All these factors may not be considered relevant in the current bi-monthly meeting in the backdrop of the on-going war between USA-Israel on the one side and Iran on the other, not on a full scale but caused enough damages already in the Gulf region that hit the world at large as a consequence. Though the positive domestic factors can no longer be ...

  SBHians: Happy SBH Day, the 5th April It was sometime in March 2015. Our SBH MD Shri Santanu Mukherjee was admitted in a hospital in Hyderabad, following a sudden suspected stomach infection. Me and the other CGM Shri Jasbir Singh Aneja, (Shri Aneja) met him in the hospital and while returning, both of us  were much worried about his health condition. The next morning, since Shri Aneja's house door was not opened even after repeated pressing of 'alarm bell' and knocks on the door, his car driver came to my house (Both of us were staying in 'SBH Abode', the bank's residential complex in Secunderabad) to apprise the situation. I permitted him to open the door and Shri Aneja was found unconscious. The doctor came, inspected and declared that he is no more, probably due to a massive heart attack that occurred in the early morning hours. The entire bank staff were stunned by the happening of the above two developments, within a fortnight, and the financial year end...

Big Individuals/Banks' Board/Directors are more equals* 1. Ex-Chairman of HDFC Bank Ltd : Last week, the then part-time Chairman (ex-chairman) of HDFC Bank Ltd.,(the bank) created a storm/bloodbath in stock exchanges by his statement that  “certain happenings and practices within the bank that I have observed over last two years, are not in congruence with my personal Values and Ethics”. He further quoted the above as the “basis” for his decision to resign from his position as Part- time Chairman and Independent Director on the Board of HDFC Bank. He did not elaborate further. In the last two years, (i)             RBI fined the bank for ₹ 1 Cr. for violating regulations relating to interest rate on deposits, recovery agents and customer service (Sep 24) (ii)       SEBI issued an administrative warning for non-compliance with merchant banking regulations. (Dec 24) (iii)       Dubai Financial Services Authority s...

  LAL SALAAM  COM. D.P.N.DAVID  Comrade D.P.N. David, (popularly known as 'David Sir' in Tamil Nadu and as DPN among seniors), the trade union warrior, attained RIP status and went to be with the Lord on 2nd March 2026. He served SBT for more than three decades. Easily the most popular employees union leader among SBTians in the 1980s and 1990s, DPN was the Assistant Secretary of SBTEU for SBT branches in Tamil Nadu (except KK District)  and all branches outside Kerala. He was also a long time office bearer of Tamil Nadu Bank Employees' Federation affiliated to AIBEA.  I had the fortune to work closely with him in the trade union activities as a member of SBT Employees' Union (SBTEU) and as a member of SBT Officers' Association (SBTOA). I share a few of my impressions/ experiences as under: 1. Learnings about SBT and SBTEU:  I was transferred to Vellore branch of SBT, along with my friend Rajkumar, within one month of joining the bank's Mount Road branch, C...

  Happy International Women's Day - 8th March 2026 I went to my fitness class on Friday. There was a debate between two. One said jokingly "O nly one day is celebrated for women, as all the other days belong to men." The other said, "This is western culture. You all have already got all the  recognition like men. There is no need to celebrate a date connected to a gender".  In the evening, when I was walking with my wife around the complex, we met another couple. Again there was a talk on women's day. The gentlemen said, "I don't think there is any bias in a community like us (upper middle class) and there is no reason why we should celebrate an event like that in our complex". I always message my thoughts (through WhatsApp now) to the women I know, while extending my greetings on 8th March. This made me to ponder and I browsed to find out whether 'gender inequality' is a thing of the past or does it still exist. I felt the truth betwee...