WE UNDERSTAND YOUR WORLD

The Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) 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 the RBI's liberalization of the Indian Banking Industry in 1994.

The bank was incorporated in August 1994 in the name of 'HDFC

Bank Limited', with its registered office in Mumbai, India. HDFC Bank

commenced operations as a Scheduled Commercial Bank in January

1995.

HDFC is India's premier housing finance company and enjoys an

impeccable track record in India as well as in international markets.

Since its inception in 1977, the Corporation has maintained a

consistent and healthy growth in its operations to remain the market

leader in mortgages. Its outstanding loan portfolio covers well over a

million dwelling units. HDFC has developed significant expertise in

retail mortgage loans to different market segments and also has a

large corporate client base for its housing related credit facilities.

With its experience in the financial markets, a strong market

reputation, large shareholder base and unique consumer franchise,

HDFC was ideally positioned to promote a bank in the Indian

environment.

HDFC Bank began operations in 1995 with a simple mission : to be a

“ World Class Indian Bank.” They realized that only a single

minded focus on product quality and service excellence would

help us get there. Today, we are proud to say that we are well

on our way

towards that goal.

HDFC Ltd has the objective to enhance residential housing stock and promote home
ownership. Their offerings range from hassle-free home loans and deposit products, to
property related services and a training facility. They also offer specialized financial
services to the customer base through partnerships with some of the best financial
institutions worldwide.

HDFC Bank is a young and dynamic bank, with a youthful and enthusiastic team
determined to accomplish the vision of becoming a world-class Indian bank.

Our business philosophy is based on four core values - Customer Focus, Operational
Excellence, Product Leadership and People. We believe that the ultimate identity and
success of our bank will reside in the exceptional quality of our people and their
extraordinary efforts. For this reason, we are committed to hiring, developing, motivating
and retaining the best people in the industry.

HDFC Bank specializes in the provision of banking and other financial services to
corporate and institutional clients. The companys services include commercial,
transactional and electronic banking products. It also provides treasury services, retail
banking and capital markets infrastructure. The company primarily operates in India.
HDFC Bank is headquartered in Mumbai, India and employs about 14,900 people. The
company recorded revenues of INR124,928 million (approximately $3,131.9 million)
during the fiscal year ended March 2008, an increase of 51.9% over 2007. The net profit
was INR15901.8 million (approximately $398.7 million) in fiscal year 2008, an increase
of 39.3% over 2007.
Mission and Business Strategy

Our mission is to be "a World Class Indian Bank", benchmarking ourselves against
international standards and best practices in terms of product offerings, technology,
service levels, risk management and audit & compliance. The objective is to build sound
customer franchises across distinct businesses so as to be a preferred provider of banking
services for target retail and wholesale customer segments, and to achieve a healthy
growth in profitability, consistent with the Bank's risk appetite. We are committed to do
this while ensuring the highest levels of ethical standards, professional integrity,
corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
Organizational Goals

HDFC’s main goals are to :-

The primary objective of HDFC is to enhance residential housing stock and to promote
home ownership.

To acquire by purchase, lease, exchange, hire or otherwise lands & property or any
interest in the same in India.

To advance money to any person/ persons, company or corporation, society or association

either at interest without, and or with or without any security and in particular to advance
money to shareholders of the company or to oth4r persons to enable the person to erect,
or purchase, or enlarge, or repair any house or building or any part or portions thereof or
to purchase any freehold or leasehold or any lands or estate or property in India upon the
terms and conditions as laid by the company.

To develop & turn to account any land acquired by the company or in which the company
is interested, and in particular by laying out and preparing the same for building purposes,
constructing, altering pulling down, decorating, maintaining; furnishing, fitting up and
improving buildings, and by planting, paving draining, farming, cultivating, letting on
building lease or building agreement, and by advancing money and entering into
contracts and agreements of all kinds with builders, tenants and others.

Subject to the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act 1949, to receive moneys on
deposits, loans or otherwise with or without interest and to secure the same in such
manner and on such terms and conditions as the company may think fit and proper and to
guarantee the debts, obligations and contracts of any person, firm, company, or
corporation whatsoever.

To negotiate loans of every description.

To finance or assist in financing the sale of house, buildings, flats, either furnished or
otherwise, by way of hire purchase or deferred payment or similar transactions and to
institute, enter into, carry on, subsidize finance or assist in subsidizing or financing he
sale of these houses, buildings, flats, furnished or otherwise, upon any term whatsoever.

Besides these the company has certain objectives incidental or ancillary to the attainment
of the main objective. These are :

To aid any government, state, or any municipal corporation, or company or association or

individual with capital, credit, means or resources for the prosecution of any work,
undertakings, project or enterprises which are conducive to all or any of the object of the
company.

To adopt such means of making known to the business of the company as may seen
expedient, and in particular by the advertisement in the press, by circulars, by purchase
and exhibition of work, of art of interest, by publication of books and periodicals, by
granting prices, rewards and donations.

To provide for the welfare of the employees or ex employees of the company and the
wives, widows and the children or the dependents of such persons in such manner as the
company deems fit and proper.

To effect and maintain insurance against loss of or inuuryt to any property of or any
persons employed by the company or against any other loss to the company.

To undertake and carry on the business in India or abroad of Merchant Banking including
consultancy services of all kinds and description, investment counseling, portfolio
management, providing of financial and investment assistance, syndication of loans,
counseling, and tie-up for project and working capital finance, syndication of financial
arrangements whether in domestic or international markets, handling of mergers and
amalgamations, assisting in the setting up of joint ventures, foreign currency lending, tax
consultancy, underwriting of any securities, whether singly or in consortium and without
prejudice to the generality of the foregoing to act as advisors and consultants, managers
to the issue of shares, debentures, stocks, bonds and securities.

PROMOTER

HDFC is India's premier housing finance company and enjoys an impeccable track record
in India as well as in international markets. Since its inception in 1977, the Corporation
has maintained a consistent and healthy growth in its operations to remain the market
leader in mortgages. Its outstanding loan portfolio covers well over a million dwelling
units. HDFC has developed significant expertise in retail mortgage loans to different
market segments and also has a large corporate client base for its housing related credit
facilities. With its experience in the financial markets, a strong market reputation, large
shareholder base and unique consumer franchise, HDFC was ideally positioned to
promote a bank in the Indian environment.
Infrastructure and Operations

March 2006 March 2007 March 2008 March 2009

Citied 228 316 327 528

Branches 535 684 761 1412

ATMs 1323 1605 1977 3295

Profile

HDFC Bank was incorporated in August 1994, and, currently has an nationwide network
of 1412 Branches and 3295 ATM's in
528 Indian towns and cities.

HDFC Bank in India operates on the following basic segments:

Personal Banking – Encompasses all financial dealings between a commercial bank and
an individual.

Wholesale Banking – Deals with all sorts of financial dealings with Corporates, medium
and small Enterprises,Financial Institutions and Trusts as well as the Government Sector.

NRI Banking – Consists of personal banking relations with the Non Resident Indians
(NRIs).
HDFC Bank has been recognized, rated and awarded by a number of organizations (on
successfully operating in India for over a decade).
Corporate Governance Policy

HDFC Bank recognizes the importance of good corporate governance, which is generally
accepted as a key factor in attaining fairness for all stakeholders and achieving
organizational efficiency. This Corporate Governance Policy, therefore, is established to
provide a direction and framework for managing and monitoring the bank in accordance
with the principles of good corporate governance. Code of Corporate Governance

Corporate Governance Rating

Composition of the Board
Profiles of Directors
Board Committees
Ownership Rights
Promoters Rights( HDFC LTD.)
Key Shareholders Rights
Listing
Registrars and transfer agents
Grievance Redressal
Dividend Policy
Memorandum of Association
Articles of Association
Board Meetings
Quarterly Updates
Fair Practice Code for Lending
Code of Ethics / Conduct
PRODUCT SCOPE:

HDFC Bank offers a bunch of products and services to meet the every need of the people.
The company cares for both, individuals as well as corporate and small and medium
enterprises. For individuals, the company has a range accounts, investment, and pension
scheme, different types of loans and cards that assist the customers. The customers can
choose the suitable one from a range of products which will suit their life-stage and
needs. For organizations the company has a host of customized solutions that range from
Funded services, Non-funded services, Value addition services, Mutual fund etc. These
affordable plans apart from providing long term value to the employees help in enhancing
goodwill of the company.
The products of the company are categorized into various sections which are as follows:
· Accounts and deposits.
· Loans.
· Investments and Insurance.
· Forex and payment services.
· Cards.
· Customer center.
SWOT – HDFC

SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It
involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the
internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that
objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at
Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

STRENGTHS

1. HDFC is the strongest and most venerable play on Indian mortgages over the long
term. The management of the bank is termed to be one of the best in the country.
2. HDFC has differentiated itself from its peers with its diversified network and
revamped distribution strategy
3. HDFC has been highly proactive in passing on the cost and benefit to customers.
4. Besides the core business, HDFC’s insurance, AMC, banking, BPO, and real estate
private equity businesses are also growing at a rapid pace and the estimated value of its
investments/subsidiaries explains ~30% of HDFC’s market capitalization.
5. High degree of customer satisfaction.
6. Lower response time with efficient and effective service.
7. Dedicated workforce aiming at making a long-term career in the field.
8. Products have required accreditations.
9. Superior customer service vs. competitors
10. Large share of low-cost deposits, higher net interest margin
11. Better quality of assets, NPA of 0.4 per cent
12. Free float available, FIIs can buy its stock
13. Higher profitability

WEAKNESSES

1. High dependence on individual loans.

2. Major stake held by American financial groups which are under stress due to economic
slowdown.
3 .Customer service staff needs training.
4. Processes and systems, etc need to be better managed
5. Management cover insufficient.
6. Sectoral growth is constrained by low unemployment levels and competition for staff
7. Marginal international presence
8. No next line of leadership
9. Not very aggressive in M&A space, growing only organically
10. Possible takeover target

OPPURTUNITIES

1. Fast growing insurance business in the country.

2. Untapped rural markets.
3.Could extend to overseas broadly
4.Fast-track career development opportunities on an industry-wide basis.
5.An applied research centre to create opportunities for developing techniques to provide
added-value services.
6. Unique partnership to create job opportunities for IFBI’s PGDBO students
7. HDFC bank automates business processes with Staff ware; HDFC Bank anticipates
major cost savings whilst maintaining high levels of customer service thanks to new
enterprise software agreement.
8. HDFC Bank plans to set up a non-banking finance company (NBFC) to undertake
fund-based activities.
9.In recent times, India has witnessed entry of many international banks like CITI
Bank, YES Bank etc which posses an external entrant threat to HDFC Bank – as this
Banks are known for their art of working and maintain high standards of customer
service.
10. After showing a significant growth overall, India is able to attract
many international financial & banking institutes, which are known
for their state of art working and keeping low operation costs.

THREATS

1. Loss of market share to commercial banks and HFC’s

2. Higher than expected increase in funding cost
3. Risk of fraud and NPA accretion due to increase in interest rates and fall in property
prices is inherent to the mortgage business
4. Lack of infrastructure in rural areas could constrain investment.
5. High volume/low cost market is intensely competitive.
6. Very high competition prevailing in the industry
7. Extension overseas holds a lot of risk!
8. Threat from credit card collections dept.
9. Varying and In-Convenient ECS dates.
10. Unlike Government Banks, an account needs a minimum balance of Rs.10,000
PESTLE Analysis

POLITICAL

The Reserve Bank of India has approved the scheme of

amalgamation of Centurion Bank of Punjab Ltd. with HDFC Bank

Ltd. with effect from May 23, 2008.

All the branches of Centurion Bank of Punjab will function as

branches of HDFC Bank with effect from May 23, 2008. With RBI’s

approval, all requisite statutory and regulatory approvals for the

merger have been obtained.

The combined entity would have a nationwide network of 1167

branches; a strong deposit base of around Rs.1,22,000 crores and

net advances of around Rs.89,000 crores. The balance sheet size of

the combined entity would be over Rs.1,63,000 crores.

Merger with Centurion Bank of Punjab Limited

On March 27, 2008, the shareholders of the Bank accorded their

consent to a scheme of amalgamation of Centurion Bank of Punjab

Limited with HDFC Bank Limited. The shareholders of the Bank

approved the issuance of one equity share of Rs.10/- each of HDFC

Bank Limited for every 29 equity shares of Re. 1/- each held in

Centurion Bank of Punjab Limited. This is subject to receipt of

Approvals from the Reserve Bank of India, stock exchanges and
Other requisite statutory and regulatory authorities. The shareholders

Also accorded their consent to issue equity shares and/or warrants

convertible into equity shares at the rate of Rs.1,530.13 each to

HDFC Limited and/or other promoter group companies on preferential

basis, subject to final regulatory approvals in this regard. The

Shareholders of the Bank have also approved an increase in the

authorized capital from Rs.450 crores to Rs.550 crores.

TIMES BANK AMALGAMATION

In a milestone transaction in the Indian banking industry, Times Bank Limited (another
new private sector bank promoted by Bennett, Coleman & Co./Times Group) was merged
with HDFC Bank Ltd., effective February 26, 2000. As per the scheme of amalgamation
approved by the shareholders of both banks and the Reserve Bank of India, shareholders
of Times Bank received 1 share of HDFC Bank for every 5.75 shares of Times Bank. The
acquisition added significant value to HDFC Bank in terms of increased branch network,
expanded geographic reach, enhanced customer base, skilled manpower and the
opportunity to cross-sell and leverage alternative delivery channels.

ECONOMIC

The company recorded revenues of INR124,928 million (approximately $3,131.9

million) during the fiscal year ended March 2008, an increase of 51.9% over 2007. The
net profit was INR15901.8 million (approximately $398.7 million) in fiscal year 2008, an
increase of 39.3% over 2007

18-MAR-09 The bank has issued unsecured, non-convertible, redeemable subordinated

bonds on private placement basis aggregating to Rs 7.97 billion in the nature of
debentures towards tier-II capital. 06-MAR-09 LIC has hiked its stake to 7.10% in HDFC
Bank after purchasing shares in the open market. 24-FEB-09 The bank issued on a private
placement basis unsecured, non-convertible, rede... More..
Business Profile Future Plans

CEO Talk
HDFC Bank remained a relatively better performer even when other banks witnessed
profit squeeze due to economic slowdown. With economic recovery in sight the bank is
all set to rapidly expand its network

Latest News
HDFC Bank, HDFC to slash deposit rates -IRIS NEWS DIGEST 18-Jun-09

SOCIAL

Sales (2007-2008) = Rs.10000 crores (rounded off)

Net profit after tax = Rs.1590 crores (rounded off)
CSR Budget: Not available

Karmayog 2008 CSR Rating: 2/ 5

CSR activities:

In keeping with the HDFC Group philosophy, your Bank has always believed in making
a difference to society at large. As a responsible corporate citizen, it has been your Bank’s
vision to empower the community through socio-economic development of
underprivileged and weaker sections of society.

During 2007-08 your Bank further intensified its efforts in this direction. Most of the
Bank’s social activities revolve around educational initiatives (including school adoption
projects, educational sponsorships of girl children, primary education to first generation
learners etc.) and initiatives in the field of livelihood training and support. In the latter
area, the Bank has been working with NGOs in providing nonformal vocational and
technical education programs as well as skill up gradation courses to enable sustainable
employment and income generation for economically weaker sections.
 1) To further integrate some of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives
with its banking operations, the Bank has started outsourcing some non-core back
office operations to certain small semi-urban locations.
2) This creates jobs for the local educated youth in those towns with obvious gains
for the families (as the youth is gainfully employed without having to relocate to
distant cities) and also gives a boost to the local economy in those locations.
3) Where relevant, the Bank coordinates its CSR activities with its microfinance and
self – help group (SHG) financing. The Bank has relationships with 110 micro
finance institutions and has extended credit facilities, whereby 1.61 million
households have been beneficiaries of financial inclusion. In this regard, your
Bank has also appointed around 150 NGOs across the country as business
correspondents (BCs) to provide SHG – Bank linkage to help tribals, physically
challenged, beggars, etc. to earn a livelihood and join the mainstream.
4) The Bank under the direct SHG linkage programme, has credit linked over 32,000
SHGs and thereby roughly another half a million households have been brought
under Financial Inclusion.
5) Employees are a key part of your Bank’s social initiatives and are encouraged to
participate in these activities, contributing their time and skills. The Bank also
administers a payroll-giving programme whereby employees offer deductions
from their salary to donate for specified charities or social causes of their choice
and the Bank contributes an equivalent amount.

HDFC reaches rural masses through SHGs

Within 21 months, after the launch of Self Help Group bank linkage programme by
HDFC bank in the state in September 2006, the bank has financially included as many as
76,380 rural house-holds in the state and disbursed loans aggregating to Rs 50.33 crores
to 5092 SHGs spread across 18 districts. All these SHGs have been provided with ‘zero
balance no frill’ saving accounts, informed business head, micro-finance division, HDFC
bank Mr K Manohar Raj here today. "The backward districts like Kalahandi and Bolangir
have also benefited from the financial inclusion of the bank. With a social commitment,
the bank has disbursed loans aggregating to Rs 74.16 lakh to 110 SHGs. As many as 1650
families have benefited from such act," Mr Raj said. Apart from the credit services, the
bank also facilitates life insurance cover to the SHG members through various life
insurance companies. The bank also provides credit counseling and conducts capacity
building events for the SHGs. "In a bid to enhance and provide better services to the
clients, two specialised branches on micro-finance at Berhampur and Jeypore would soon
be opened," he said. Highlighting other activities of the bank, Mr Raj spoke on
rehabilitation of destitute in Puri, sanctioning of loan for weavers in Bolangir and taking
up of chapel-making activities by sex-workers through HDFC assistance in Bargarh
district et al. He further said that the bank’s micro-finance programme provides access to
financial services like credit, saving, insurance and remittance to the poor in a sustainable
and commercially viable manner. The bank had initiated micro-finance institutions bulk
lending model in 2003 and SHG bank linkage programme in 2006. So far, the bank has
provided financial services to more than two million households with asset portfolio of
more than Rs 10 billion across 17 states, Mr. Raj said. Among other important officials,
Mrs Bandana Lal and Mr Asutosh Kumar were present

TECHNOLOGICAL

In the era of globalization each and every sector faced the stiff

competition from their rivals. And world also converted into the flat

from the globe. After the policy of liberalization and RBI initiatives to

take the step for the private sector banks, more and more changes

are taking the part into it. And there are create competition between

the private sector banks and public sector bank.

Private sector banks are today used the latest technology for the

different transaction of day to day banking life. As we know that

Information Technology plays the vital role in the each and every

industries and gives the optimum return from the limited resources.

Banks are service industries and today IT gives the innovative

Technology application to Banking industries. HDFC BANK is the

leader in the industries and today IT and HDFC BANK together

combined they reached the sky. New technology changed the mind of

the customers and changed the queue concept from the history

banking transaction. Today there are different channels are available

for the banking transactions.

We can see that the how technology gives the best results in the
 below diagram. There are drastically changes seen in the use of

Internet banking, in a year 2001 (2%) and in the year 2008 ( 25%).

These type of technology gives the freedom to retail customers.

Centralized Processing Units Derived Economies of Scale

Electronic Straight Through Processing Reduced Transaction Cost

Data Warehousing , CRM Improve cost efficiency, Cross sell

Innovative Technology Application Provide new or superior products

HDFC BANK is the very consistent player in the New private sector

banks. New private sector banks to withstand the competition from

public sector banks came up with innovative products and superior

service.

Technology converges at HDFC Bank

When HDFC decided to interconnect its branches, it was looking for the most cost-
effective method. The hub and spoke architecture proved to be beneficial in many ways.
by Minu Sirsalewala
HDFC Bank had a centralized IP-based network right since its inception. All branches
across the country converge at their respective zonal hub location, which in turn conects
to the data center at Chandivili, Mumbai.

Network

Based on the bank's hub & spoke architecture for the network, the branches are
distributed under different regions and each major location has a regional hub. The
branches falling under a location connect to the hub at the main region. These hubs then
connect to the central site (data center) using a combination of 2 Mbps and 64 Kbps
pipes, depending on the total volume of the transactions that pass through.

C.N. Ram, Head-Information Technology, HDFC Bank says, "Each branch is connected
to their regional hub, as to connect every branch directly to the data center involves huge
costs. This kind of architecture helps save cost."

A highlight of HDFC Bank's network is the presence of two or more hubs in one location.
"To balance the load and reduce the dependency on a single line, the bank has two hub
locations within a region to share the load. The branches are split between the two hubs,
so that one hub failure does not incapacitate all the branches in that region," explained
C.N. Ram.

A step ahead

In the coming years HDFC Bank plans to deploy connections, with built-in redundancy in
the network. For example, Madras could be connected to Bangalore and Kolkata, with all
three of them being connected to Chandivili. Therefore, if the Kolkata-Chandivili link
fails, then Kolkata will use the Madras link to connect to the Chandivili data center.

The bank is also considering alternate connectivity solutions as VSATs are relatively
more expensive, and in remote areas it is difficult to set up the required infrastructure.

The bank has tested CDMA and GSM solutions—specially for ATMs as they consume
very small bandwidths.

The bank's servers have also undergone phases of development inline with the bank's
expansion plans.

Servers
The bank started with applications on SCO-Unix boxes from Compaq almost eight years
back. The software then used was MicroBanker from i-flex Solutions (then called
CITIL). The set-up supported about 10 branches initially.

"With an expansion in the number of branches the bank felt the need to consider
Unix/RISC boxes rather than an Intel/SCO Unix platform, and selected the Sun platform.
Since then the bank has been running applications on a Sun platform," said C.N. Ram.

With the growth in transaction volumes, number of branches and the number of users the
hardware platform has also been upgraded. Till recent times the database was operating
on a direct attached storage (DAS), and from 1st April 2003 the bank switched to storage
attached network (SAN).

The bank's earliest server was a Sun Ultra 170; over time it moved to Sun Ultra 3500,
4500, and then Sun E10 K. Now the applications run on Sun's Star Fire 15K Server.

Banking applications

The bank uses separate software for corporate and retail banking as there was no single
package that met both their business requirements.

On the corporate side HDFC Bank started with MicroBanker and then moved to Flexcube
in 2002. They use Flexcube UBS, which operates on a Compaq Alpha box-GS160. This
database was also on DAS and was moved to SAN over last year (December 2002). The
bank uses SAN solutions from Hitachi Data Systems. On the retail side the bank uses
Finware from i-flex solutions.

The bank did not face any serious migration issues as they use upgraded products or new
products usually from the same vendors. The vendors have programs that enable the
migration or upgrades.

"When HDFC Bank had acquired Times Bank in 2000 all the Times Bank customers
were shifted from their package (called Kapiti) to HDFC Bank's Finware and
MicroBanker. We had the vendors develop the software required to migrate the data from
Kapiti to Finware so that the task for the operating departments was greatly reduced and
the conversion was done in a short space of three months with minimum disruption to
customer service," said C.N. Ram.

Storage

The bank currently deploys SAN but feels they will need to consider NAS sometime in
the future. According to C. N. Ram the bank's storage requirement is growing at a rate of
four to five percent every month. With an increase in data volume, the capacity of the
hardware also needs to be updated. This calls for huge investments as all areas like
backup, disaster recovery and others need to be addressed. The bank has to store data for
seven years as per the RBI guidelines, and as it is not necessary to store the data on-line
—the bank uses tapes for off-line storage. The bank anticipates storage costs to come
down, and bulk purchases would be economical.

Disaster Recovery setup

C.N. Ram says, "Our approach is that we need to protect our data first as the basis for a
business continuity plan."

The bank has a disaster recovery (DR) site at Chennai. The data at the main center is
replicated in real-time on-line at the Chennai site. The data is stored on the servers at the
DR site and the database is constantly replenished. If some disaster was to occur, data (up
to the last second) will be replicated, and be available. This gives both, the bank and the
customer a feeling of security.

Security at HDFC Bank

Pre-Internet banking

Security concerns during the pre-Internet period had more to do with the internal
activities of a business. Right from the early days technology solutions—like banking
applications for mainframes, AS400 or Unix—had lot of security built-in. Transactions
that are directed from the branch to the main server are encrypted; there are individual
passwords, and numerous functions have two levels of authorization. Thus security in
banking, to a large extent, is built into the software or the application itself.

Internet banking

The moment a business opens up through a medium like Internet, external security
becomes of prime importance. One has to start considering protection tools like firewalls,
IDS, and others. According to C.N. Ram, it is not enough to take care of security from the
hardware or software perspective, one needs to have security policies in place, which will
tell you how to review the logs.

Ram informs that HDFC Bank has a mechanism in place where a third-party is hired to
manage their entire security. This third-party is constantly onsite looking at logs, making
the required changes, as there are patches and upgrades being constantly released, and it
is imperative to incorporate all of these.

"You are protecting the infrastructure, but you also have to keep a vigil on the logs to see
who is trying to attack you or hack into your system," says Ram. The bank also has safety
measures in terms of who has access, or who is authorized to access certain
kinds of data.
"Much of the security deals with the classification of the information you have. Thus
people who are functionally responsible for a particular area are also responsible for the
data they have. For example, a corporate banking customer will not have access to retail
banking data, and vice-versa. These are generally built-in the banking packages systems,"
said C.N. Ram. Security is directly related to the business. The banking systems over the
years have been built with lots of security concern based
on the kind of business they do.

He further added that security is not limited to hardware and soft-ware—premise security
also plays an equally important role. Physical access is combined with data access. One
has to have swipe cards to access the area where the data is. Thus there is lot of emphasis
on access control mechanisms, which is in fact physical security.

Future of banking and technology

According to C.N. Ram, the future is integration as people will have less time for
banking. People will want to process more transactions on the Internet. There will be
more activity in terms of applications and services on the mobile. Geography will not be
an inhibitor any more as everything is executable on the Net.

"Integration is the next real big thing. As a customer you will want a one-stop shop that
will take care of all your needs. For instance people will want to buy their mutual funds,
redeem their mutual fund, buy insurance policies, renew policies, buy cinema tickets,
railway tickets, and numerous similar transactions through the bank. The ATM will still
serve as a cash dispensing medium, but the Internet and mobile will be very active," says
C.N. Ram.

Cost of infrastructure is coming down considerably. Service providers are providing

alternative routes to customers and prices are coming down, as there is healthy
competition in the market. Bulk purchases will result in affordable prices.

LEGAL

HDFC Bank is the most preferred employer in Banking industry in India.

Manager – Legal-HDFC BANK

Responsibilities:

To handle end to end legal process of general or designated portfolios of the region.
Initiating appropriate legal proceedings in consultation with Collections, representing
bank before Courts / Forums / Police Stations / arbitrators / statutory bodies, monitoring
and reviewing legal managers of the State, maintaining MIS, liasing with lawyers,
execution of process under SARFAESI etc.
KRA Metric
(1) Initiating appropriate legal proceedings as per Collections requirement and helping
Collections in meeting numbers and deadlines. Within the TAT prescribed for each
process.
(2)Effective vendor management including clearance of bills without delay. Within 3
days of receipt of bills, bills to be forwarded to respective departments.
(3)Overseeing and reviewing legal managers of the area by conducting periodical reviews
and ensuring that process adopted is in line with policy and requirements. Not
quantifiable
(4) Maintaining MIS of the area and providing it to higher ups within TAT. Not
quantifiable
(5)Handling the claims raised against the bank effectively before all forums/ statutory
bodies and ensuring that no adverse orders are passed against the bank. Not quantifiable

Requirements:
Candidate must possess at least a Bachelor of Law in Law or equivalent.
Required skill(s): recovery oriented litigation, SARFAESI, arbitration.
At least 2 year(s) of working experience in the related field is required for this position.
Applicants should be Indian citizens or hold relevant residence status.
Preferably Senior Executives specializing in Banking/Financial Services or equivalent.
Job role in Others or equivalent.
2 Full-Time positions available.

ICICI Bank sends legal notice to HDFC Bank official

MUMBAI: India’s second-largest lender, ICICI Bank, has shot off a legal notice to a

senior official of HDFC Bank, for airing views on ICICI

in a business magazine.
Mandeep Maitra, the officer in question, who is the head of human resources at HDFC
Bank, told the magazine that she was careful in hiring people from ICICI Bank simply
because she did not want the “ICICI culture” to seep into the bank she works for.

The contents of the story say that in each one of the past three years HDFC Bank had
attracted around 900 officials from ICICI Bank. In some places, almost the entire top
brass of an ICICI Bank branch would walk in for interviews. Ms Maitra is alleged to have
said, “Of course, the first thing I ask is ‘How many of you are from ICICI Bank?’ I do not
want that culture out here

ENVIRONMENT

HDFC Bank Joins The Anti-Plastic Drive

One of India's leading banks- HDFC Bank, is partnering with the city's municipal
authorities to educate people about the danger posed by plastic bags to the environment,
and to offer recycled paper bags instead.

The bank reinforced the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) initiated anti-plastic
awareness drive by distributing recycled and eco-friendly paper bags to retailers and
customers across nine markets in the city.

Kolkata mayor Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya inaugurated the KMC-HDFC Bank anti-
plastic awareness initiative at Gariahat Market in south Kolkata handing over HDFC
Bank paper bags to a few shoppers and retailers.

The initiative christened "Be Independent of Plastic on Independence Day" is undertaken

by the bank to encourage people to proactively get rid of plastic bags and use eco-
friendly recycled paper bags.

Plastic bags clog gutters and storm water drains, causing water and sewage to overflow
and become a breeding ground for disease-causing germs, bacteria and insects. Serious
flooding in cities across the country was caused, to a large extent, by plastic bags choking
drains.

Madhusudan Hegde, Regional Head, East, HDFC Bank said, "We have undertaken this
initiative to generate awareness among the people about the dire need to eradicate plastic
bags from our life and protect the environment.

"We will encourage citizens to use environment friendly and cost effective paper bags as
the best substitute. We feel that it is our social responsibility to support the KMC and the
state government in their drive to ban the use of plastic bags," he said.

Social activist and poet Chitra Lahiri, Calcutta University Bio Technology &
Environmental Science department head Sudip Bandopadhyay and television personality
Bratati Bandopadhyay participated in the campaign

HDFC bank urges its customers to use the internet to transcact with them especially
in case of Mutual Funds by using HDFCMF Online …slogan being….

‘With HDFCMC Online you will help save a lot of paper and we encourage you to
choose this eco-friendly mode of transacting. We hope you will help us in our endeavor
to protect our environment and help us SAVE PAPER, SAVE TREES.’
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTOR EVALUATION

The IFE Matrix together with the EFE matrix is a strategy-formulation tool that can be
utilized to evaluate how a company is performing in regards to identified internal
strengths and weaknesses of a company. The IFE matrix method conceptually relates to
the Balanced Scorecard method in some aspects.
INTERNAL FACTOR EVALUATION (IFE)

Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) matrix is a strategic management tool for auditing or
evaluating major strengths and weaknesses in functional areas of a business. IFE matrix
also provides a basis for identifying and evaluating relationships among those areas. The
Internal Factor Evaluation matrix or short IFE matrix is used in strategy formulation.

STRENGTHS

1. HDFC is the strongest and most venerable play on Indian mortgages over the long
term. The management of the bank is termed to be one of the best in the country.
2. HDFC has differentiated itself from its peers with its diversified network and
revamped distribution strategy
3. HDFC has been highly proactive in passing on the cost and benefit to customers.
4. Besides the core business, HDFC’s insurance, AMC, banking, BPO, and real estate
private equity businesses are also growing at a rapid pace and the estimated value of its
investments/subsidiaries explains ~30% of HDFC’s market capitalization.
5. High degree of customer satisfaction.
6. Lower response time with efficient and effective service.
7. Dedicated workforce aiming at making a long-term career in the field.
8. Products have required accreditations.
9. Superior customer service vs. competitors
10. Large share of low-cost deposits, higher net interest margin
11. Better quality of assets, NPA of 0.4 per cent
12. Free float available, FIIs can buy its stock
13. Higher profitability

WEAKNESSES

1. High dependence on individual loans.

2. Major stake held by American financial groups which are under stress due to economic
slowdown.
3 .Customer service staff needs training.
4. Processes and systems, etc need to be better managed
5. Management cover insufficient.
6. Sectoral growth is constrained by low unemployment levels and competition for staff
7. Marginal international presence
8. No next line of leadership
9. Not very aggressive in M&A space, growing only organically
10. Possible takeover target

EXTERNAL FACTOR EVALUATION

External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix method is a strategic-management tool often

used for assessment of current business conditions. The EFE matrix is a good tool to
visualize and prioritize the opportunities and threats that a business is facing.

OPPURTUNITIES

1. Fast growing insurance business in the country.

2. Untapped rural markets.
3. Could extend to overseas broadly
4. Fast-track career development opportunities on an industry-wide basis.
5. An applied research centre to create opportunities for developing techniques to provide
added-value services.
6. Unique partnership to create job opportunities for IFBI’s PGDBO students
7. HDFC bank automates business processes with Staffware; HDFC Bank anticipates
major cost savings whilst maintaining high levels of customer service thanks to new
enterprise software agreement.
8. HDFC Bank plans to set up a non-banking finance company (NBFC) to undertake
fund-based activities.
9.In recent times, India has witnessed entry of many international banks like CITI
Bank, YES Bank etc which posses an external entrant threat to HDFCBank – as this
Banks are known for their art of working and maintain high standards of customer
service.
10. After showing a significant growth overall, India is able to attract
many international financial & banking institutes, which are known
for their state of art working and keeping low operation costs.

THREATS
1. Loss of market share to commercial banks and HFC’s
2. Higher than expected increase in funding cost
3. Risk of fraud and NPA accretion due to increase in interest rates and fall in property
prices is inherent to the mortgage business
4. Lack of infrastructure in rural areas could constrain investment.
5. High volume/low cost market is intensely competitive.
6. Very high competition prevailing in the industry
7. Extension overseas holds a lot of risk!
8. Threat from credit card collections dept.
9. Varying and In-Convenient ECS dates.
10. Unlike Government Banks, an account needs a minimum balance of Rs.10,000

BUSINESS STRETEGY

HDFC BANK mission is to be "a World Class Indian Bank",

benchmarking themselves against international standards and best

practices in terms of product offerings, technology, service levels,

risk management and audit & compliance. The objective is to build

sound customer franchises across distinct businesses so as to be a

preferred provider of banking services for target retail and wholesale

customer segments, and to achieve a healthy growth in profitability,

consistent with the Bank's risk appetite. Bank is committed to do this

while ensuring the highest levels of ethical standards, professional

integrity, corporate governance and regulatory compliance. Continue

to develop new product and technology is the main business strategy

of the bank. Maintain good relation with the customers is the main

and prime objective of the bank.

HDFC BANK business strategy emphasizes the

following :

• Increase market share in India’s expanding banking and

financial services industry by following a disciplined growth

strategy focusing on quality and not on quantity and delivering

 high quality customer service.

• Leverage our technology platform and open scaleable systems

to deliver more products to more customers and to control

operating costs.

• Maintain current high standards for asset quality through

disciplined credit risk management.

• Develop innovative products and services that attract the

targeted customers and address inefficiencies in the Indian

financial sector.

• Continue to develop products and services that reduce bank’s

cost of funds.

• Focus on high earnings growth with low volatility.

COMPETITIVE SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
O
P S – O Strategies W – O Strategies
P
O Strength: Large Capital base. Weakness: Workforce
R
T Opportunity: Market Expansion. Responsiveness.
U
N Opportunity: Outsourcing of Non –
I Strategy: Deep Penetration into Core Business.
T
I Rural Market. Strategy: Outsource Customer
E Care & other E-Helps.
S

S – T Strategies W – T Strategies
T
H Strength: Low operating costs Weakness: Not Equal to
R International Standards.
E
A Threat: Increased Competition Threat: Entry of many Foreign
T from others Pvt. Banks. Banks.
S
Strategy: Steps to Ensure
Loyalty by old Strategy: Consider additional
Customers. benefits

Detailed Analysis:

i. Strength - Opportunity Analysis.

Strength:

It is well know that HDFC Bank has the largest Authorised Capital

Base in the Banking System in India i.e. having a total capacity to

raise Rs. 19,000,000,000 (Non – Premium Value).

Opportunity:

Seeing the present financial & economic development of Indian

Economy and also the tremendous growth of the Indian

Companies including the acquisition spree followed by them,

it clearly states the expanding market for finance requirements

and also the growth in surplus disposal income of Indian citizens

has given a huge rise in savings deposits – from the above point it

is clear that there is a huge market expansion possible in banking

sector in India.

Strategy:

From the analysis of Strength & Opportunity the simple and

straight possible strategy for HDFC Bank could be - to penetrate

into the rural sector of India for expanding its market share as well

as leading all other Pvt. Banks from a great gap.

ii. Strength - Threat Analysis.

Strength:

HDFC Bank is not only known for large capital but also for having a

low operations cost though having huge number of branches and

services provided.

Threat:

After showing a significant growth overall, India is able to attract

many international financial & banking institutes, which are known

for their state of art working and keeping low operation costs.

Strategy:

To ensure that HDFC Bank keeps going on with low operation cost

& have continuous business it should simply promote itself well &

provide quality service so as to ensure customer loyalty, therefore

guaranteeing continuous business.

iii. Weakness - Opportunity Analysis.

Weakness:

It is well known that workforce responsiveness in banking sector is

Very low in Indian banking sector, though HDFC Bank has better

responsible staff but it still lacks behind its counterparts like HSBC,

HDFC BANK, CITI BANK, YES BANK etc.

Opportunity:

In the present world, India is preferred one of the best places for

out – sourcing of business process works and many more.

Strategy:

As international companies are reaping huge benefits after out-

Sourcing there customer care & BPO’s, this same strategy should

be implemented by HDFC Bank so as to have proper customer

service without hindering customer expectations.

iv. Weakness - Threat Analysis.

Weakness:

Though having a international presence, HDFC Bank has not been

able to keep up the international standards in providing customer

service as well as banking works.

Threat:
In recent times, India has witnessed entry of many international

banks like CITI Bank, YES Bank etc which posses an external

entrant threat to HDFC Bank – as this Banks are known for their art

of working and maintain high standards of customer service.

Strategy:

After having new entrants threat, HDFC Bank should come up with

More additional benefits to its customer or may be even reduce

some fees for any additional works of customers.

CUSTOMER SERVICE STRATEGY

Our strategy is based on one of the weaknesses of HDFC bank. In order to improve
customer service we have put together a comprehensive strategy as to how to improve
this subject area.

Let us see - What Does Customer Service Comprise?

Now we need to look at Customer Service and what it actually comprises. Here is a
definition.

DEFINITION
Customer Service
Customer Service is the sum total of what an organisation does to meet customer
expectations and produce customer satisfaction.
Think about the definition and relate it to your own and your team’s work with
customers. The actual services that a customer receives will vary from one situation to
another. The
combination of services that you deliver to customers depends upon a number of
factors:
The core product or service being delivered
The organisation delivering the service
The individual delivering the service
The customer receiving the service
The specific point or stage in the Customer Transaction that has been reached
Service is provided at various Touch-Points during a customer’s relationship with an
organization – this relationship could last for years, especially for your organisation’s
valuable, long-standing customers. In addition, there are different aspects of service
provided at different times during a customer transaction, such as before, during and
after a purchase.

This applies to internal customers, as well as external customers. If, for example, a
service is being provided to an internal customer this could be before, during or after
a particular task was set. Remember also that the service itself might actually be
provided by different means. Service can be provided by a person, such as a customer
orders assistant, a logistics operator or a retail assistant. Service can provided by
automated systems such as E-Commerce (or self-service) websites, or automated
telephone response systems Some customers may prefer a human interaction to an
automated or self-service interaction. Organisations need to choose carefully the type
of interaction they are going to provide at these touch-points – and this will depend on
costs to some extent. Indeed, customers do not necessarily reject automated services.
Some world-renowned online retailers have established their global reputations by
delivering very high levels of service through automated sales and service systems.
Whatever the particular channel that your organisation uses for delivering its customer
service, it is essential that the quality and reliability is as high as possible and that you
know what your customers think of the services they receive.
Service Characteristics

Customers who do business with you have high expectations. They expect as a
minimum that you will deliver the Core Product or Core Service to the appropriate
specifications and quality. The correct items should be delivered, as ordered, to the
right destination and at the right time. In the case of a core service, that must also be
provided as agreed - often within a Service Level Agreement or contract.
But what exactly do your own customers expect? It is important for you and your team
to
analyse the detailed service characteristics that you deliver to customers. Think
carefully about the range of service characteristics that your team provides.

Service characteristics are the individual elements that make up the service provided
to
Customers. Service Characteristics can be grouped under the following seven headings,
with examples given
below.

Reliability
For example:
The quality attached to a product
Prompt delivery of an item
Correct numbers of products requested in a delivery

Competence
For example:
Efficient packaging of a number of items in a delivery
Efficient delivery and unloading of items at the customer’s premises
Being an accurate advisor to customers

Responsiveness
For example:
Service recovery processes in the case of problems, with adequate compensation, if
appropriate
Responding to internal customers’ needs on time
Helping internal customers resolve problems and difficulties

Communication
For example:
Pre-purchase product information
After-sales services and information
Providing accurate and timely information for internal customers

Understanding Customers
For example:
Taking the trouble to check on customers’ requirements
 Getting to know the customer’s processes
Understanding the customer’s business and anticipating their future needs

Accessibility
For example:
Being available when needed
Being flexible
Having service available at as many times and locations as possible
Making use of technology to provide a more flexible service

Personal Qualities
For example:
Trustworthy
Being proficient and professional
Honesty
Approachability
Being pleasant and courteous to customers
Being a good listener when needed, and showing empathy.

Service Offer
A Service Offer defines the extent and limits of the customer service that an
organisation is offering. In commercial organisations the Service Offer is often partly
determined by the price that is being charged and by the Service Offer of competitors.
Some organisations try to build a unique Service Offer - one that differentiates the
organisation from its competitors or comparable organisations.

To give an example, a distinctive and successful Service Offer was provided by a

solicitor. The company wanted to differentiate itself from other solicitors by offering a
Home Advice Service. It recognised that some customers preferred the convenience of
discussing their legal requirements in their own home, rather than always travelling to
the centre of the town where the company was based. Home visits proved a successful
Service Offer and many new clients were attracted to do business with the company.
The extra business generated made up for the increased cost of travelling to clients’
homes, customers valued the accessibility of the service and found the solicitor more
approachable. Non-competitive organisations also benefit from designing and building
the right Service Offer for their customers. For instance, the Service Offer of a health
authority is vitally important for its patients. Service characteristics such as
accessibility, reliability and understanding customers can be just as critical in the eyes
of patients as the actual health treatment itself. It is common for health authorities to
Benchmark their Service Offer against other health authorities, trying to build a
Service Offer which is as good, if not better than other, similar health authorities.
Fundamental Concepts of Customer Service Teams
In order to become an effective Manager or Team Leader, you need the support of your
team. Excellent organisations have teams that are truly obsessed with customers. A
team is the ideal place to make the customer focused culture a reality, with like-
minded colleagues developing a passion for genuinely excellent customer service.
Your team is the best place to start making the improvements that are needed for
world class service excellence. Of course, it is not simply a matter of becoming an
enthusiast for customer service. Even if everyone recognises how important excellent
service is as an objective, the right people, resources and processes must also be in
place for it to happen. Think about the level of customer focus in your own team, how
you could increase it, and the developmental activities that your team could introduce
in order to make big strides towards meeting and exceeding expectations - of both
internal and external customers.

Benefits of Team Working

Now think about why effective teams are particularly beneficial for customer service.
Let’s identify some of the benefits of effective team working.

Motivation - Some people are better team players than others, but we all benefit from
being involved with other people, and a sense of involvement often leads to a sense of
motivation.

Shared Vision - Teams of customer service professionals need to be clear about the
team’s overall objectives. This leads to a shared vision of customer service - all the
team pulls together, recognising that the prime objective is to deliver excellent
service to customers.

Problem Resolution - Sometimes teams face difficulties. Sharing problems and

difficulties with others in a team is another key benefit of team working. Occasionally,
for example, individuals can become de-motivated, and do not work fully for the
team. At other times, processes can break down, or there can be obstacles to
overcome.

Team Synergy - Meeting deadlines for internal and external customers can create
pressures in a team. Enlisting the help of others can help get through those
difficulties. This team synergy is an essential part of excellent internal customer
service.
Additions to Our Service Offer:

Changing the Service Offer

Organisations have processes for changing their Service Offer, and the Manager or
Team Leader must keep to these processes if he intend to make changes to his own
Service Offer. Within a typical process, it is important to find out from customers
themselves what they want and expect from your organisation. Just as important when
designing or changing the Service Offer is to ensure that any increased costs of
delivering services in a new way are justified, and that employees have the
knowledge, skills and support to deliver the services effectively and
consistently.

Customers Are Key

Customers’ Expectations are increasing. HDFC as an organisation has competitors who
are trying to improve their own Service Standards in order to exceed their customers’
expectations. HDFC needs to do the same, but better. Because today’s customers are
so demanding, it is only those organisations which recognise rising customer
expectations, and continuously go the extra step to satisfy and delight their
customers, that will succeed. Customers, then, are key for you and your team.

Core Service – this will provide the basic products and services, and will meet some
customers’ expectations. It is unlikely to satisfy other customers who have
experienced better service elsewhere. This could be through the purchase of an
entirely different product or service. Today’s customers remember the best service
they have received (or heard about), and demand that level of service from all their
transactions, regardless of the product or sector. If HDFC continue to offer just core
service, it is likely that customers will move to competitors before too long.

Augmented Service – this goes beyond core service and is the minimum your
organisation should provide in order to at least keep up with the market. HDFC will
generally be meeting and exceeding customers’ expectations. Augmented Service will
retain many customers in the short and medium term, but this level of service does
not consistently deliver really exceptional experiences for customers - the “Wow!”
factor is not there all the time.

Excellent Service – this means that HDFC Bank as anorganisation is maximising its
chances of being the market leader, constantly innovating to find new ways of
exceeding customer expectations, with highly skilled and motivated individuals
delivering exceptional service to customers. It is consistently attempting to exceed
customers’ expectations - every time a customer interaction takes place. This level of
service really does consistently deliver the “Wow!” factor.
Customer Focused Culture
A Customer Focused Culture exists in a team when customers (both external and
internal) are given a the highest priority in the objectives, targets, activities, and
decisions of the team. The customer is placed at the heart of everything that the team
does. The Components of Excellent Customer Service are described below.

Deliver The Promise

Keep to what you and your organisation say you will do. Understand the way your
customers want to be treated and adapt your behaviour as far as possible. Whatever
you do, don’t let your service delivery fall short of your customers’ expectations.

Go The Extra Mile

Try, if you can, to over-deliver. Delight your customers by giving them what they
expect, plus some more. If you can, provide something extra for every customer. This
will help establish loyal customers, who will recommend you to colleagues, friends and
family, and build a great reputation for your organisation. As an example, one quality
which customers may want from your team is the ability to interact emotionally. In
other words, your team members should not simply carry out their work in a
mechanical way when dealing with customers. Your team members need to be skilled
and knowledgeable in order to:
• Recognise their own emotions and their customers’ emotional reactions
• Control their own emotions
• Use their own emotions to make good decisions
• Act effectively

Make It Personal

Customers want to be treated as individuals. They love it when you say or do

something that shows you are interested in them. It does not have to be anything big
or difficult that you do – but whatever way you choose, make sure it is genuine.
Customers in many situations will expect

Keep It Simple

Make the customer transaction as simple as possible - for the customer. In general,
they just want to do business with you and then get on with the rest of their day. Yes,
they want to be treated specially, but they also want the transaction to be simple and
straightforward. To keep it simple your team will need clear procedures and great
internal communication. Processes should be more customer focused than organisation
focused.

Resolve Problems Well

If a customer has a problem, take it seriously and resolve it well. If you resolve a
problem for customers in a quick and responsive way, they will be your most loyal
ambassadors in the future. Make the solution simple and deal with it efficiently.
Customers want problems to be resolved quickly, but above all they need to be kept
informed. They want to know what you are doing about the problem, and what will
happen next. Learn from mistakes, so that your team uses a problem or complaint as a
way of improving the way you do things. Create a no-blame culture in your team -
accepting that problems do happen and they should be shared and owned up to.
The Organisational Competencies Required for Excellent
Customer Service
Now let’s translate what customers want from HDFC Bank into some organisational
competencies – so that you can see what you as Manager or Team Leader must achieve
within your team. If customers want excellent service, how does the organisation or
team go about providing it? Developing and Sustaining a Reputation for Service
Excellence, identifies the Organisational Competencies that need to be in place to
deliver that excellent service. These organisational competencies have to be in place
right across the organisation. Although you can do a lot yourself with your own team,
World Class Service Excellence relies on a commitment and drive from the very top of
the organisation to build these competencies. The competencies are described below.

Service Personality

The organisation has a well-defined personality which defines the particular way it
delivers service and interacts with its customers. An excellent service provider tends
to have its own Service Personality – an identifiable set of service characteristics that
defines how its service provision is different from that of its competitors.

Service Culture
There is a culture throughout the organisation’s people that focuses on giving
excellent service o both internal and external customers. Leaders and managers are
committed to the service culture. They communicate the organisation’s vision, values,
leadership and continuous improvement methods to employees. Employees understand
their own role in supporting the service culture. An example is provided by a large,
multinational organisation that supplies food products to retail stores. It includes
customer service in its mission statement, publishes its organizational values
prominently on its website, and issues a one-page “Customer Service Credo” to all its
employees. It ensures that all its people have a clear understanding of the importance
of customer service in all that they do.

Committed Staff

Employees are well-motivated, have a can-do attitude, enjoy team working and
supporting their internal customers. Professional relationships exist throughout the
organisation, with high levels of trust, openness and a no-blame culture, encouraging
continuous improvement. An example is shown by an organisation where teams
regularly have their own meetings to review customer service issues, talk through
improvements to processes and deal with customers’ problems. Each month they
appoint an “Employee of the Month” – and the winners of the award are sometimes
people who deal only with internal customers.

Customer Focused Processes

Systems and processes are designed around customers, whether internal or external.
Six systems or processes in particular are seen as fundamental: communication
systems, systems for listening to customers and employees, training systems,
appraisal, reward and recognition systems, performance measurement systems and
service recovery systems. For example, at all sites of a European retailer there are
notice-boards to display up-to-date graphs showing customer satisfaction levels. This
ties employees’ and teams’ performances firmly to improvements for customers.

Easy To Do Business With

If the first four organisational competencies are in place, then they should lead to
really positive results for customers – they will find the organisation easy to do
business with.
An example is provided by guests at a prominent hotel group. The hotel finds that it
wins and keeps many new customers because it has ensured its online room booking
service is highly customer focused and easy to use. Combined with the excellent
service reported by customers when they stay at the hotel, this means the
organisation is easy to do business with.

Financial Benefits

Once the organisational competencies are in place, your team and organisation can
build a reputation amongst its customers for service excellence. This in turn leads to
Customer Loyalty, recommendation and – in general – to financial success.
STRATEGIC QUALITY POLICY

· SECURITY: The bank provides long term financial security to their policy. The bank
does this by offering life insurance and pension products.

· TRUST: The bank appreciates the trust placed by their policy holders in the bank.
Hence, it will aim to manage their investments very carefully and live up to this trust.

· INNOVATION: Recognizing the different needs of our customers, the bank offers a
range of innovative products to meet these needs.

· INTEGRITY

· CUSTOMER CENTRIC

· PEOPLE CARE “ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE”

· TEAM WORK

· JOY AND SIMPLICITY