The HDFC Journey: From Saving on Paper Cups to "World's Most Valuable Bank"

HDFC started its journey way back in 1977 as the Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited, a company founded by an Indian financial entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist Hansukhbhai Parekh but the private sector bank was incorporated much later in August 1994 in the name of 'HDFC Bank Limited'. It was amongst the first to receive an 'in principle' approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a bank in the private sector, as part of RBI's liberalisation of the Indian Banking Industry in 1994. The bank commenced its operation on January 16th 1995 from its first branch at Churchgate, Mumbai.

In less than 18 years of getting its banking licence, HDFC became India's most valuable bank in 2011 overtaking market leader State Bank of India. And as of June 30, 2016, the Bank’s distribution network was at 4,541 branches with a network of over 12,000 ATMs across India.

Here’s the HDFC story so far, and for starters if not HDFC, the bank could have been named Everest Bank of India, or Greater Bank of Bombay, or Bombay International Bank.