HDFC Bank Parivartan

In line with its Digital Strategy, the Bank has gone digital, eventually reducing the consumption of paper. Several processes have been automated and made paperless. The Bank has set up systems to reduce paper consumption in all its offices, where a centralised stationery desk manages most requirements. In FY 2018-19, the Bank saved more than 51,000 sheets of A4 paper by means of automation of approval and payment processes within the IT department.

About 90% of the Bank’s transactions in FY 2018-19 were carried out through digital banking using web and mobile applications.

Some of the Bank’s initiatives to save paper include

Communicating quantities of paper usage per employee through internal reports.

Digital Banking methods of Net Banking, Phone Banking and Mobile Banking reduces carbon emissions by reducing customer travel requirements.

To save paper, the Bank encourages its employees to scan, store and share documents electronically. All Internal claims raised by employees including travel are through digital applications; this has greatly reduced paper usage.

No Pen and Paper policy on Phone Banking and Credit Policy releases.

Tracking employee paper consumption using a unique ID.

Option to not print paper receipts at the ATMs.

For further details on the Bank’s Digital journey, please refer to the Chapter on Digitization

Responsible Lending

The Bank is committed to Responsible Financing and does not fund projects that have an adverse impact on environment, health and safety (EHS). All loans, exceeding ₹ 10 crore in value and a tenure of more than five years, are screened through the SEMS (Social and Environmental Management System) framework. They are carefully scrutinised and validated for their environmental and social impact. The number of project loans screened for compliance with SEMS framework in FY 2018-19 were 164.

The Relationship Manager (RM) is the bridge between the Bank and customer. The RM reports compliance with EHS norms in the Credit Assessment Memorandum (CAM) both at the time of initial sanction and during the monitoring process, based on the information / disclosures provided by the borrower at the time of initial appraisal and during periodic review of the facilities. The RM records outstanding EHS issues if any and follows them up with the client for prompt resolution. The Bank levies penal interest in case of deviations and, thus, ensures compliance with the agreed EHS norms. If there are significant deviations that could affect the viability of the project, the Bank reserves the right to either reduce its exposure or recall the loan.

In FY 2018-19, as part of the post-sanction and pre-disbursement diligence process, the Bank carried out a technical assessment of a certain Resort project of loan value of ₹ 300 Crore, through a Lender’s Independent Engineer (LIE). The project was in an advanced stage of construction. During this exercise, the LIE concluded through an elaborate survey and measurement that the construction carried out was in violation of the Coastal Regulations Zone (CRZ), India. When this issue became known, the Bank decided not to go ahead with disbursement, considering the violation of environmental norms.