Former HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh’s 1978 job offer letter goes viral; Do you know how much was his salary 45 years ago?

New Delhi: The merger of HDFC Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC Ltd), which came into effect from July 1, was one of the biggest developments in the banking sector in recent times. After the much talked about merger, HDFC Bank has become the largest bank in the country in terms of market capitalisation. Just a day before the merger, HDFC Bank’s former chairman Deepak Parekh resigned from his post and shared an emotional note with the bank’s employees saying it is “time to hang up my boots”.

“It is time for me to retire with both anticipation and hope for the future. Although this will be my last communication to the shareholders of HDFC, rest assured that we are now moving towards a very exciting future of growth and prosperity. HDFC His experience is invaluable. Our history cannot be erased and our legacy will be carried forward,” Parekh said in his retirement letter.

Soon after, a post claiming to show a 45-year-old letter – from when Deepak Parekh was first offered a job at HDFC Bank in 1978 – went viral on social media. The letter, dated July 19, 1978, also gave details of the salary given to Deepak Parekh and other terms and conditions of the employment contract.

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Please note that Zee Media cannot verify the authenticity of the letter.

Deepak Parekh has retired after a career of 45 years. #hdfc

His appointment letter was dated 19th July, 1978. He joined HDFC as Deputy General Manager at a basic salary of Rs 3,500.

Truly the end of an era!#hdfcmerger pic.twitter.com/9Z7qedifTK– Shilpa S. Ranipeta (@Shilparanipeta) 30 June 2023

Thereafter, Parekh joined his uncle’s company HDFC Limited as Deputy General Manager. As per the offer letter, Parekh was offered a basic pay of Rs 3,500 and a fixed dearness allowance of Rs 500. Apart from his salary, Deepak Parekh was also entitled to 15 per cent house rent allowance and 10 per cent urban compensatory allowance.

According to the letter, Deepak Parekh was also offered provident fund, gratuity, medical benefits, leave travel facilities and reimbursement of residential phone expenses of the corporation. After the merger, Parekh will not serve on the board of the bank due to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations on age limits.

During his 45-year career, Parekh has been responsible for taking five companies public and conducting at least seven M&A deals. Under Parekh, HDFC has provided home loans to over nine million Indians and grown its loan book to Rs 7.24 lakh crore. The mortgage lender now captures more than a third of the overall home loan market.

HDFC Bank had agreed to a deal worth US$40 billion on April 4 last year. HDFC Bank is now 100 per cent owned by public shareholders, and existing shareholders of HDFC hold 41 per cent of the bank. The market value of HDFC Bank has increased significantly after the merger, making it the richest bank in India. HDFC Bank had a market cap of Rs 9,28,657.99 crore as of July 7.