HDFC’s Keki Mistry intends to use his
expertise to assist the community and others
Farrokh Jijina
"I want to do something for old people…It is a very niche area… Hardly anyone does anything for old people,” noted Keki Mistry, vice chairman and chief operating officer of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) in an interview at his downtown office on October 3, 2022. "If you see a six-to-10-year-old begging on the street, chances are that you will offer help… If it is an elderly person, most people will turn their faces away… I don’t know what it is…People fear old age.”
Stating that there are many corporate social responsibility programs to fund women’s and children’s needs, he reiterated that he wanted to look out for the person "left behind... Many times when the man dies, his wife often has the resilience to fend for herself… If the woman precedes the male partner, it is often a nightmare for him.” Admitting that plans still have to be crystallized, Mistry stated, "Maybe there will be acquisition of land for a home.” Will his efforts be focused only on the community? "I don’t know yet,” he stated.
From l: Viveck Goenka, Keki Mistry and Nirmala Sitharaman
HDFC, that Mistry has served for 41 years in various capacities, will merge with its current subsidiary HDFC Bank once regulatory and other approvals are in place (see "A new giant,” Business, Parsiana, April 21-May 6, 2022). Mistry expects the merger to be completed in the April-May 2023 time frame. "There will be no HDFC,” he stated.
Noted Financial Express (FE) of September 2, "As HDFC prepares to meld into its progeny (HDFC Bank), Mistry’s legacy will live on in the subsidiaries whose inception and growth he oversaw. Right from 1994 when HDFC joined hands with General Electric Capital to set up Countrywide Consumer Financial Services, he has been a crucial part of every new venture incubated by the group.”
The veteran banker said he will continue to serve on the boards of HDFC subsidiaries that look into insurance and other financial services, and yet others, including Tata Consultancy Services, Flipkart and Torrent Power. A recent news announcement stated that he has been roped in as an advisor to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for its India operations. "I love numbers, figures, balance sheets,” stated the chartered accountant. "His colleagues speak of how he could remember numbers to the sixth or seventh decimal point,” noted FE.
Mistry was the recipient of FE’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2020-21conferred on him this August 26 by union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Parsiana asked which of the many awards he has received in his long career holds the greatest value for him. "When one receives a lifetime award, it is a vindication of your dedication,” he stated. Previous lifetime awards in the last one year include one from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and another from the Asian Centre for Corporate Governance, he stated.
The home finance veteran sees a pickup in the demand for home loans, despite rate hikes. He told the Business Standard of September 12 that "the economy is buoyant, the feel good factor is high, affordability is better, so people are comfortable buying houses.”
Parsiana asked Mistry what he considered the biggest achievement of his four decades in the finance field. "Sticking to one organization and building it up,” he replied. "Whatever one does, one should feel as good about it on a Monday morning as one does on a Friday evening,” he stated.
Does the community need more housing? Yes, he stated, adding that it was a top-of-the-mind response. The larger land parcels could be given over to a reputed developer. "Build top quality homes, sell to high net worth individuals and use the proceeds for social schemes,” is his advice.
Will Mistry involve himself in community affairs in the future? "I have told the Bombay Parsi Punchayet that I am available in any advisory role on an honorary basis,” he noted. "No more elections for me,” he stated. The 67-year-old banker had unsuccessfully contested the 2008 trusteeship elections. "There should be a system of nominating individuals of good standing to the apex body… One should not need to sell oneself,” he had told Parsiana previously (see "The largest investment,” Parsiana, July 21, 2017).
"Our numbers are going down…We are discouraging our own people,” he stated, referring to the non-acceptance of children of intermarried women. "We need to relook at some of these beliefs.” As regarding methods of disposal of the dead, Mistry stated, "Disposing of urgently is best… Each person needs to decide what is best for him/her.”
Mistry’s wife Arnaz worked in Unit Trust of India for 20 years. Their daughter Tinaz has completed her masters from the London School of Economics and according to her social media profile is a self-employed wealth manager.