The Chief Executive and Managing Director of HDFC Mr. ADitya Puri has sold his 7.4 million shares of HDFC worth 842.87 crores.
Mr Puri has emerged as the highest paid Indian banker with a 20% growth in gross earning of Rs 18.92 crores.
The sale of shares by Puri, was executed between 21-23 July.
Puri’s sale comes months ahead of his retirement from the bank.
He sold 7.42 million of the 7.79 million shares within the bank and Puri’s remaining holding of the bank shares is now 376,000 shares valued at over Rs 42 crore as of the last close.
A bank spokesperson explained that the shares were allotted to Puri over a period of your time at different price points and stressed that they weren’t given at par with the face value of the share.
“The net value realized by Puri isn’t as stated. The acquisition cost of shares and therefore the tax payable on the transaction has got to be accounted for also ,” he added.
Puri had emerged because the highest-paid Indian banker in FY2019-20 with a 20 per cent growth in gross earnings at Rs 18.92 crore. He had also earned a further Rs 161.56 crore in FY2019-20 and Rs 42.20 crore in FY2019 by exercising his stock options, as per the bank’s earlier disclosures.
HDFC Bank shares have gained 46 per cent since touching its 2020 low of Rs 765 apiece on March 24, amid a huge sell-off in equities thanks to fears over the Covid-19 pandemic. The scrip closed at 1,118.80 on the BSE on Friday.
Puri was reportedly granted 682,000 shares under the worker Stock Ownership Plan (ESOPs) in FY2020 and had also sold shares worth Rs 200 crore within the bank’s subsidiary HDB Financial Services in FY2020.
His term is about to finish in October when he attains the age of 70 and he are going to be second chief executive after Indusind Bank’s Romesh Sobti to retire this year.
Speaking at a bank annual general meeting earlier this month, Puri had said his preferred successor has been with the bank for over 25 years and it’s up to the Federal Reserve Bank now to verify the name.
After undertaking an enquiry for his successor, including appointing an external headhunter, HDFC Bank board had earlier this year selected the possible successors and submitted their names to RBI in preference of their choice.
According to reports, bank’s change agent Sashidhar Jagdishan and head of wholesale banking Kaizad Bharucha are among the chosen internal candidates, while Sunil Garg of Citibank is among the three external candidates selected by the board.