Major Project HDFC Internship
Major Project HDFC Internship
ON
PENETRATION AND SEGMENTATION
AT
HDFC BANK DOBON ROAD BRANCH
BY
Himanshu Sharma
Under the guidance of
Mr.Yashwant Singh (Mentor)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Interning with India’s largest bank, HDFC Bank was a great opportunity and experience for a
fresher. I am thankful to Bharati Vidyapeeth and HDFC BANK for providing me with this
opportunity.
I am thankful to those people who have helped me directly indirectly for completing this project
work, it was an honour for me to work with such supportive bank staffs who helped me in every
possible way. I present my special thanks to Mr.Yashwant Singh, my faculty mentor who guided
me though my internship.
I would also thank all the branch staffs for their wonderful support
I will try to use the experience and learning of the two months in all of my future endeavors.
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DECLARATION
I, Himanshu Sharma to declare that the summer internship project report entitled
“SEGMENTATION AND PENETRATION” being submitted to HDFC BANK LTD. For
fulfillment of the internship program (From 10 of June to 14th of August).
Therefore, this project work is original and total analysis and other work has been done by me.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
HDFC Bank Ltd. was established by Mr. Aditya Puri and Mr. Deepak Parekh which is now
the second largest bank in India and is expanding its customer base every day. The bank
offers a variety of products and service for three different customer segments. The financial
performance of the bank is also on a better side in spite of prevailing market conditions.
The report also includes my experience of working as an intern with HDFC bank along with
observations, issues, suggestions and learning. The last part of the report talks about
behavior of consumers with regards to investment decisions. It discusses factors affecting
investment decision, degree of involvement and the process of pitching an investment
product to a customer.
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CONTENTS
I.1. INTRODUCTION 7
PART II
PROJECT WORK
II 1. EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING 36-53
II 2. SEGMENTATION 54
PART III
LEARNING FROM PROJECT
III.1. FACTORS AFFECTING INVESTMENT DECISION---------------------------------------------------------------------59-61
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CONTENTS
PART IV
PAGE NO.
IV.1. CONCLUSION 65
IV.3. BIBLOGRAPHY 67
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PART – I
INTRODUCTION
HDFC BANK is one of the most successful bank in India. It was incorporated in 1994, its
registered office is in Mumbai and at present it has the high share value in share market its
believes in customer satisfaction as its 1st priority therefore which lead the company to be
India’s No. 1 bank, at present its CEO is Mr. Aditya Puri. HDFC bank began operations with a
simple mission “world class Indian bank”.
It was amongst the 1st bank to receive approval from Reserve Bank Of India to set up a bank
in the private sector, as part of the RBI's liberalization of the Indian Banking Industry in
1994. HDFC Bank merged with Times Bank in February 2000. This was the first merger of
two private banks in the New Generation private sector banks category. In 2008, Centurion
Bank was acquired by HDFC Bank. HDFC Bank Board approved the acquisition of CBoP for
95.1 billion INR in one of the largest mergers in the financial sector in India.
As of March 31, 2019, the Bank's distribution network was at 5,103 branches across 2,748
cities. The bank also installed 4.30 Lakhs POS terminals and issued 235.7 Lakhs debit cards
and 85.4 Lakhs credit cards in FY 2017.
Hdfc bank’s single-minded focus on product quality and service excellence has helped us
garner the appreciation of both national and international organizations. All its facts and
figures highlighting the rapid growth of HDFC Bank over the last nine years.
Therefore the further project report will be on penetration and segmentation i.e. I need to find
out the market penetration of the bank with the help certain data collected manually as a
sample, and on the other hand I need to segment the customer on the basis of age, preferences
, behavior etc. with the help of data collected by me.
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I.2 PROFILE OF THE ORGANIZATION
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 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. In 1994 HDFC Bank was incorporated, with its registered office in Mumbai,
India. Its first corporate office and a full service branch at Sandoz House, Worli were
inaugurated by the then Union Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh.
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, strong market reputation, large shareholder base and unique consumer
franchise, HDFC was ideally positioned to promote a bank in the Indian environment.
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I.3 JOINING DETAILS
9
I.4 TOP MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
10
I.5. ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY
MANAGING DIRECTOR
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
COUNTRY HEAD
GROUP HEAD
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Group Co- Head
BRANCH MANAGER
Branch Manager
Branch Sales
Relationship Managers at different portfolios officer (BSo)
Current Account
Personal Bankers and Welcome Desk Sales officer
(CSo)
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I.6. PRODUCT PROFILE
Savings Account
HDFC Bank offers a wide variety of savings account under its product portfolio. They are:
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Besides these, customers can avail other features of BSBDA, such as bill payment
options. HDFC Bank also offers special features on BSBDA, such as the option of an
international debit card and safe deposit locker.
The common insurance features for all the saving accounts are:
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Salary Account
HDFC Bank provides for the facility of opening a salary account for the salaried persons.
The different types of salary accounts are:
BSBDA Salary
HDFC Bank offers a range of features on BSBDA (Basic Savings Bank Deposit Small
Account). These include access to our wide network of branches, and various ways to
bank.
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Current Accounts
The different profiles of current accounts offered to the general public by HDFC Bank
are:
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EZEE Current Account
Enjoy affordable business banking across India with multiple banking features on EZEE
Current account. Benefit from the special rural features of Ezee Current Accounts, such
as lower quarterly average balance for semi-urban and rural accounts.
The customer-friendly features of Ezee Current Account include doorstep banking and
free cash withdrawals at home branch. In addition, receive a host of easy banking features
on Ezee Current Account, such as instant transaction alerts and on-the-go banking
options.
Manage cash easily and efficiently with numerous features of Max Current Account at
HDFC Bank and its excellent financial services which creates customer value.
Use our trade finance features of Max Current Account to route import and export
transactions, and get competitive rates. Enjoy speedy clearing features on Max Current
Account for quicker realization of cheques. Benefit from the instant alert features on
Max Current Account, as well as access to our wide network of branches. The free
features on Max Current Account include unlimited demand drafts, RTGS and NEFT
transactions as well as up to 5oo cheque leaves every month.
There are several other current accounts offered by HDFC Bank in India. They are:
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Ascent Current Account
RFC Domestic Current Account
Exchange Earners Foreign Currency (EEFC) Account
E-Comm Current Account
Deposits
Dream Deposit
Regular Fixed Deposit
Recurring Deposit
5 Year Tax Saving Fixed Deposit
overdrafts Against Fixed Deposits
Sweep-In Facility
Rural Accounts
BSBDA Farmers
Kisan Club Savings Account
Pension Accounts (Also available for urban people)
Loans
Personal Loans
Car Loans
Business Loans
Loan for Professionals
Home Loans
Two Wheeler Loan
Gold Loan
Loan Against Property
Education Loan
Government Sponsored Programmes
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Rural Loans
SmartDraft – overdraft Loans Against Property
SmartDraft – overdraft Loans Against Salary
Loans Against Assets
Consumer Durable Loans
Cards
Credit Cards
Debit Cards
Pre- Paid Cards
Forex Cards
Credit Card Rewards Card
Card for Loan on Credit Cards
DMAT Account
DMAT Account
2 in 1 Account (DMAT + Trading Account)
3 in 1 Account ( Savings + DMAT + Trading Account)
Investment Assist
Investments
National Pension Systems
Atal Pension Yojna
InvestTrack
Investment Products
Investment Advisory Group Reports
Public Provident Funds
Sukanya Samridhhi Account
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna
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Insurance
Life Insurance
Health and Accident Insurance
Motor Insurance
Travel Insurance
Home Insurance
Two Wheeler Insurance
Student Travel Insurance
Cyber Safety Insurance
Forex
Travel Solutions
Remittance Products
other Forex Services
Forex Cards
Forex Help
Premier Banking
Imperia Banking
Preferred Banking
Classic Banking
Prime Banking
Private Banking
Direct Equity
Mutual Funds
Fixed Income Products
Insurance
Alternate Funds
Structured Products
Estate Planning
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I.7. SERVICES OFFERED
Government Buyers: Bank offers GeM pool accounts with following tailor made
solutions
Start Doing:
HDFC Bank provides a wide portfolio of Car Loans, Bike Loans and Personal Loans.
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SmartHub
SmartHub offers Payment Management solutions to merchants of all sizes, operating across the
E-Toll FasTag
It is a simple to use; reloadable tag which enables automatic deduction of toll charges and lets
you pass through the toll plaza without stopping for the cash transaction.
FASTag is linked to a prepaid account from which the applicable toll amount is deducted. The tag
employs
Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) technology and is affixed on the vehicle's windscreen after
the tag account is active
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I.8. BUSINESS FOCUS
HDFC Bank deals with three key business elements: Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking and
Treasury. It has entered the banking consortia of over 5o corporate for providing working capital
finance, trade services, corporate finance, and merchant banking. It is also providing
sophisticated product structures in areas of foreign exchange and derivatives, money markets and
debt trading and equity research.
Treasury
Within this business, the bank has three main product areas - Foreign Exchange and Derivatives,
Local Currency Money Market & Debt Securities, and Equities. These services are provided
through the bank's Treasury team. To comply with statutory reserve requirements, the bank is
required to hold 25% of its deposits in government securities. The Treasury business is
responsible for managing the returns and market risk on this investment portfolio.
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I.9. SIZE OF THE ORGANIZATION
Turnover as of March 2o19
Particulars Amount (in Crore rupees)
Revenue 116,597.9
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I.10. VISION, MISSION AND CORE VALUES
Vision
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.
Mission
HDFC mission is to be “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. They are committed to do this while ensuring the highest
levels of ethical standards, professional integrity, corporate governance and regulatory
compliance.
Core Values
Increase the 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 the technology platform and open scalable systems to deliver more products to
more customers and to control operating costs.
Maintain the 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 the cost of funds. Focus on high
earnings growth with low volatility.
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I.11. SWOT ANALYSIS OF HDFC BANK
Strengths
HDFC bank is the second largest private banking sector in India.
HDFC bank is located in 2,764 cities and serves customers through Telephone banking.
The bank’s ATM card is compatible with all domestic and international Visa/Master card, Visa
Electron/ Maestro, Plus/circus and American Express. This is one reason for HDFC cards to be
the most preferred card for shopping and online transactions
HDFC bank has the high degree of customer satisfaction when compared to other private banks
The attrition rate in HDFC is low and it is one of the best places to work in private banking
sector.
HDFC has lots of awards and recognition, it has received ‘Best Bank’ award from various
financial rating institutions like Dun and Bradstreet, Financial express, Euro money awards for
excellence, Finance Asia country awards etc
HDFC has good financial advisors in terms of guiding customers towards right investments
Weakness
HDFC bank doesn’t have strong presence in Rural areas, where as ICICI bank its
direct competitor is expanding in rural market
HDFC cannot enjoy first mover advantage in rural areas. Rural people are hard core loyal
in terms of banking services.
HDFC lacks in aggressive marketing strategies like ICICI
The bank focuses mostly on high end clients
Some of the bank’s product categories lack in performance and doesn’t have reach in
the market
The share prices of HDFC are often fluctuating causing uncertainty for the investors
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Opportunities
HDFC bank has better asset quality parameters over government banks, hence the
profit growth is likely to increase
The companies in large and SME are growing at very fast pace. HDFC has
good reputation in terms of maintaining corporate salary accounts
HDFC bank has improved it’s bad debts and the recovery of bad debts are high
when compared to government banks
HDFC has very good opportunities in abroad
Greater scope for acquisitions and strategic alliances due to strong financial position
Threats
The non banking financial companies and new age banks are increasing in India.
The HDFC is not able to expand its market share as ICICI imposes major threat.
The government banks are trying to modernize to compete with private banks.
RBI has opened up to 74% for foreign banks to invest in Indian market
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I.12. MCKINSY’S 7S FRAMEWORK OF HDFC BANK
Structure
Systems
Style
Staff
Skills
Strategy
Shared Values
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Systems
The system followed by the employees of HDFC Bank was purely systematical and
streamlined in a prescribed fashion. orders used to flow Top- down and the suggestions
used to follow a Bottom Up approach. A clear monitoring of the performance was done
to keep in mind in case the suggestion comes from the bottom level of the pyramid so
that those suggestions if found feasible can be implemented wherever needed.
Style
The working style and work monitoring style was very intimidating. All the employees
had to report their work done offline and online. For offline, a register was maintained
with the names of all the employees and their daily productivity. CRM Next was the
name of the online software in which the account of the banker was made and they had
to keep a track of the activities they have done and also update it on the software.
Staff
All the staff members at HDFC Banks were made to attend the different raining
programs or group bonding exercises whereby they were made to interact with each
other rand bond together as they had to work together and work bonding is more
important than anything in an organization. The staff members were asked to relate to
each other’s problems and in case any problems exist, solve them at their levels
howsoever possible.
Skills
As discussed in the points above, the skill set maintenance in an employee is very
important, so the management made sure that every details of the training aspect is
covered by providing for training slots by industry experts every month or in every two
months. Also, if any new changes were to be done, like automation of lockers, there used
to be step by step mail guide was floated to the employees handling the lockers so that in
case any discrepancy was unnoticed in the offline process, it can be easily tracked. Also,
tracking of the account number inked with the lockers is possible. So, these skills were
incorporated in the staffs.
Strategy
The strategy was clear. They wanted to be the premium bank. But when they had a good
product backup team to develop a product, they started to venture into being the
premium
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bank. With the implementation of Demonetization, they have decided to be the only
people’s bank. In 2o18, when they read their reports, it was quite clear that the popularity
has reached to every corner of the country and hence, now the aim of the bank is to be
the only banker. They have a wide variety of products and they have added it to their list
that if other banks also collaborate with them to sell their products, it will be an addition
to the HDFC’s backbone.
Shared Values
Transparency, innovation and freedom to employees are the main pillars of HDFC Bank.
In its aim to be a leader in banking World and Insurance Sector as well as promoting
Innovation to be the only banker, it gives space for personal and professional
development and also encourages its employees to think out of the box in serving their
clients, not just for appreciation and ratings, but for selfless intellectual growth also.
In his revolutionary article - "Five Forces that Shape Strategy", Michael Porter observed five
forces that have significant impact on a firm's profitability in its industry. These five forces
analysis today in business world is also known as -Porter Five Forces Analysis. The Porter Five
Forces are -
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Porter Five Forces is a holistic strategy framework that took strategic decision away from just
analyzing the present competition. Porter Five Forces focuses on - how HDFC Bank Limited can
build a sustainable competitive advantage in Foreign Regional Banks industry. Managers at
HDFC Bank Limited can not only use Porter Five Forces to develop a strategic position with in
Foreign Regional Banks industry but also can explore profitable opportunities in whole
Financial sector.
New entrants in Foreign Regional Banks brings innovation, new ways of doing things and put
pressure on HDFC Bank Limited through lower pricing strategy, reducing costs, and providing
new value propositions to the customers. HDFC Bank Limited has to manage all these
challenges and build effective barriers to safeguard its competitive edge.
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How HDFC Bank Limited can tackle the Threats of New Entrants ?
By innovating new products and services. New products not only brings new customers
to the fold but also give old customer a reason to buy HDFC Bank Limited‘s products.
By building economies of scale so that it can lower the fixed cost per unit.
Building capacities and spending money on research and development. New entrants are
less likely to enter a dynamic industry where the established players such as HDFC Bank
Limited keep defining the standards regularly. It significantly reduces the window of
extraordinary profits for the new firms thus discourage new players in the industry.
All most all the companies in the Foreign Regional Banks industry buy their raw material from
numerous suppliers. Suppliers in dominant position can decrease the margins HDFC Bank
Limited can earn in the market. Powerful suppliers in Financial sector use their negotiating
power to extract higher prices from the firms in Foreign Regional Banks field. The overall
impact of higher supplier bargaining power is that it lowers the overall profitability of Foreign
Regional Banks.
How HDFC Bank Limited can tackle Bargaining Power of the Suppliers ?
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Bargaining Power of Buyers
Buyers are often a demanding lot. They want to buy the best offerings available by paying the
minimum price as possible. This put pressure on HDFC Bank Limited profitability in the long
run. The smaller and more powerful the customer base is of HDFC Bank Limited the higher the
bargaining power of the customers and higher their ability to seek increasing discounts and
offers.
How HDFC Bank Limited can tackle the Bargaining Power of Buyers ?
By building a large base of customers. This will be helpful in two ways. It will reduce the
bargaining power of the buyers plus it will provide an opportunity to the firm to
streamline its sales and production process.
By rapidly innovating new products. Customers often seek discounts and offerings on
established products so if HDFC Bank Limited keeps on coming up with new products
then it can limit the bargaining power of buyers.
New products will also reduce the defection of existing customers of HDFC Bank
Limited to its competitors.
When a new product or service meets a similar customer needs in different ways, industry
profitability suffers. For example services like Drop box and Google Drive are substitute to
storage hardware drives. The threat of a substitute product or service is high if it offers a value
proposition that is uniquely different from present offerings of the industry.
How HDFC Bank Limited can tackle the Treat of Substitute Products / Services ?
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Rivalry among the Existing Competitors
If the rivalry among the existing players in an industry is intense then it will drive down prices
and decrease the overall profitability of the industry. HDFC Bank Limited operates in a very
competitive Foreign Regional Banks industry. This competition does take toll on the overall long
term profitability of the organization.
How HDFC Bank Limited can tackle Intense Rivalry among the Existing Competitors?
By analyzing all the five competitive forces HDFC Bank Limited strategists can gain a complete
picture of what impacts the profitability of the organization in Foreign Regional Banks industry?
They can identify game changing trends early on and can swiftly respond to exploit the emerging
opportunity. By understanding the Porter Five Forces in great detail HDFC Bank Limited’s
managers can shape those forces in their favor.
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I.14. FUTURE STRATEGIES OF HDFC BANK
Banking behemoth HDFC Bank sees the “largest opportunity” for its growth to still come out of
India in the coming years and plans to persist with its “omni-channel” strategy to plumb deep
into the growing domestic market, a top official said.
“Will we grow our international business? The answer is yes. However, the largest opportunity
for growth for us is going to be India-centric,” Paresh Sukthankar, Deputy Managing Director,
HDFC Bank, told BusinessLine.
Given how the Indian economy is doing and given that a large part is un-banked or under-
serviced, there is more of an opportunity to tap into within the country, Sukthankar said.
He said that the overall pie was growing and that HDFC Bank, which was growing faster than
industry, was gaining market share from both public sector and foreign banks.
“We want to be a bank that remains focused on both retail and wholesale customer segments. We
will continue to cater to all customer segments end-to-end,” he said.
He also said that growth for HDFC Bank will come from all areas at different rates from
different points of time.
“Different products will have faster or slower growth. Having a diversified portfolio allows us to
grow at more stable growth rate. Being equally well-positioned across customers and
geographies gives us stability for our own growth,” Sukthankar said.
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PART-II
PROJECT WORK
II.1 Type of project: Experiential Learning Project
Introduction
The title of my project was “Segmentation and Penetration” and I was appointed as an intern at
Retail branch banking. The branch was located in Dobson Road area of Howrah City West
Bengal The branch consisted of the major designated employees, in the following hierarchical
structure:
Branch Manager
(Mr. Saikat Banerji)
Teller r
Mukherjee)ETC.
Apart from the above mentioned people, there were several other sub- departments. These are:
Credit Card Department: Mr Sunil Sharma
Insurance Department: Mrs Amrita
Das
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Customer profile
The customers of this branch mainly consist of builders, real estate companies, big business
people, their family accounts, their personal accounts and their HUF accounts along with their
investment portfolio accounts. Also, a high end society with premium quality flats and
bungalows was located in the nearby vicinity of the bank. Therefore, the customers coming to the
bank in the banking hours was in huge numbers and nearly all these people had their Preferred or
with our bank branch. Also, it was densely populated area which attracted more customers as we
had tie ups with them. on the other side, the branch had more proportion of savings accounts
from business men, housewives, mothers, the children of families and senior citizens. Also, there
was a particular trend of the customers banking with our branch could be observed because
inspire of having such a huge network connected, it wasn’t humanly possible to bring on the
platform all the users at the same time.
Methodology
1. Ethnographic Study
Ethnographic study is a qualitative type of research methodology where the researcher becomes
an active observer as a part of his/her field work. The researcher interacts with participants,
observes their actions and makes extensive notes during his field work. This type of study
depends mostly on the observation skills of the researcher and how he/she perceives the
environment. To overcome personal biasness, the researcher needs to understand the culture of
the organization and immerse into it completely. He/she also needs to understand nature of
participants in order to make inferences from their actions. An important part of conducting
ethnographic study is maintaining a journal of important events.
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2. Maintenance of Journal
The internship commenced with a two-day orientation program. We were enlightened on who
established the bank, when was it established, who played what role in the establishment and
how has the bank evolved over the years. Along with the history and milestones achieved by the
bank, we were also given basic knowledge about the various services and financial products
offered by the bank. The work culture of the organization was also discussed by giving examples
of certain employees to make us understand what qualities we need to reflect while working. All
the decisions of the bank are taken by keeping their current motto “To be the only bank of their
customers” in center. During the training sessions, a lot of emphasis was also laid on the steps
the bank takes towards digitalizing their transactions and making the maximum use of
technology that is customer-friendly.
The importance and benefits of Know Your Customer (KYC) that is compulsory u/s 181 of
Negotiable Instruments Act was discussed by us. For updation of KYC, customers need to
submit photocopy of their Aadhar card and PAN card. KYC updation serves four purposes:
Customer acceptance by the bank
Customer identification through Government portals
Risk categorization of the customer by the bank (Low risk- salaried person, senior
citizens, children; Medium risk- professionals; High risk- businessmen)
Transaction monitoring
The Negotiable Instruments Act also signifies important points for cheque collection by all
banks. “Z” principle is to be followed while checking a cheque. As per this principle, details are
to be checked in such a way that it forms a “Z” pattern. Crossing and name, Date, Amount in
words, Amount in figures and signature are to be checked in the mentioned order.
The concept of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) was also explained and how it is important for
preventing money laundering activities and terrorism funding.
The number of employees in each branch varied as per the no. of customers the branch served.
The employee hierarchy generally followed by branches is shown below:
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Regional Head
Cluster Head
Branch
Manager
Personal
Teller Relationship
Banker
Authorizer Authorizer Manager
Personal
Welcome Desk Teller
Banker
There are branches that served a small set of customers and had only two employees working.
Such branches are called Two-men branches.
Joining as a management intern on 10th J, I was allocated the role of Project trainee and
the job role allocated was High Net worth Individuals Portfolio Management and Mutual Fund
as well as aiding to creation of a new customer base by method of field visits and sales pitching
to the walk-ins and walk-outs and tele calling. In the first week of working, I was told to sit
at different counters of the bank branch and learn the over the counter dealing of the customers
and the clients who come in search of the Personal Bankers and the help desk with their different
problems. I learned that any customer who enters the bank is a probable client and the bank is
39
Liable to serve him in the best possible manner so that the bank can provide him with all the
benefits whichever he demands. I was made to spend time with the Personal Bankers of the bank.
There are different PBs allotted for different purposes and different portfolios. HDFC Bank
maintains four different types of portfolios:
Regular: This is for the regular customers who come into the bank for opening either a
savings account or current account. These customers are treated as normal customers and
are talked as per the same. This portfolio manages a minimum balance of 1o, ooo savings
accounts and a minimum balance of 25, ooo current accounts. These customers are not
expected to reach a very high limit and they are not pestered for the same as well. If the
minimum balance goes below the permissible limit, monthly charges are deducted and
this leads to the discrepancy in the customer’s minds as sometimes they are unaware of
this policy and they tend to lose all their savings in filling these charges. The worst is that
the bank fails to give notifications for the same that the balance I below the allowed limit
and this will lead to charges. Many customers are closing the accounts for the same
reason. Also, the debit cards are chargeable at an annual rental of 59o Rupees per month
which makes it an expensive deal for the person to handle it. These unhappy customers
are moving to Kotak Mahindra and ICICI banks which are their rivals.
Classic: This is the second portfolio. This is the category where the customers are given a
raise from their regular accounts to classic accounts where the perks are high and
expenses are also high. It is not a premium portfolio for the customers but is like the AC
bogie of the train which contains some benefit holing people but is not necessarily that
responsible or responsive but can afford that seat. These accounts are under a different
post person. No PB is allowed to manage the classic customers the way they want and
wish and desire. The classic customers will be handled by the relationship Manager of
the Classic.
Preferred: These are the customers ranked a little higher than the Classic customers and
as their name suggests, these are the real preferred customers of the branch. These are
near premium customers very likely to be converted to the highest category of Imperia
customers. Preferred customers are the ones who enjoy the mixed benefits of classic and
imperia. These customers have a much high priority than other customers. These
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customers are treated nicely as they provide high business to the banks and thus they are
given priority as the business revolves around profits through customer satisfaction in
service industry. These customers are the preferred category customers as they can
maintain a high balance and also, even if they are unable to maintain the balance for 25
days a month but their Average Monthly Balance limit is met at the end of the month,
they will not suffer any penalties or charges cut or reduction in their accounts. Also, these
customers generally visit the branch and thus they are given high priority. Imperia
customers do not generally visit the branch although they are the highest level of star
customers HDFC Bank can get.
Imperia: This is the highest portfolio offered. The customers in this portfolio have to
maintain the best business with the bank as they are the highest priority customers. These
customers can bring the best business to the banks. The bank focuses on giving all the
facilities to these customers so that maximum satisfaction can be provided to them. These
customers have to maintain a fixed balance of a high amount in their accounts with the
bank so that if they derive benefits, they can also provide business. These customers
generally do not show up in the banks and they demand that they wish to avail the door
step services by the banks serving partners. They generally send their representatives to
the branch as they are busy in their schedules. These customers are the best examples of
the way a company’s services can be availed without any technical glitches.
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Each of these portfolios is managed by different Relationship Managers and each of this
RMs has the given portfolios under them. These portfolio managers are assigned some
assistants under them and the customer visits are to be done by this RMs or their
assistants or both and it has to be ensured that the customers are properly managed. My
role was to stay with the PBs and RMs and learn banking the way the PB and RM does.
Each PB is responsible to report to the PB authorizer.
I tried to gel up with the situation and then learn banking the banking way. I learnt the
file maintaining and the customer dealing and pitching also under these PBs. I slowly
started to absorb into the system and started learning the basics of banking with which I
was nearly unaware. I began from observing the customers who meet the Welcome Desk
(WD) and the way they are treated with care and responsibility without the malice of
treating them as the third party. I sat at the WD and learned to understand the needs of
the customers and the way each of them need to be tackled differently. The different
customers of different portfolios used to visit at the WD first asking about the needs they
have and then they used to visit the required counters. I used to see how their needs are to
be heard and then tackled differently with respect to different persons. The problems and
the solutions are given as follows:
Opening an account: When the customers used to visit the branch with the expectation
of opening the bank account, they first visit the Welcome Desk and they enquire about
the account opening procedure. Then we need to ask them whether they want current
account or savings account. Also, since HDFC is a private bank, the minimum amount
required to keep in the saving account is Rupees 1oooo and the limit can be raised up to
Rupees 25ooo for being a max customer. The customer can open account at the regular
portfolio and then they can be upgraded as per their balance requirements and cash and
services benefits requirements. The current account needs an amount of minimum Rupees
25ooo to be maintained for the purpose of better liquidity. If the balance goes beyond the
expected amount, the bank charges the account holders for the same after frequent
reminders. The procedure for opening the account t is inclusion of pan card, Aadhaar
card, photograph of the person, person’s mother’s name, fathers name, mobile number,
email ID, nominee details like name, mobile number, relation with the account holder,
date of birth of the nominee and signature of the account holder. This complete the
42
account opening procedure, but the Aadhaar generated online is not acceptable and in
such a case either a biometric generated Aadhaar is taken out or the e-Aadhaar is
generated online in the presence of the customer using his biometric details or mobile
number and that Aadhaar is used. If the account opened is a salary account, then the
company should have a corporate tie-up and the company code must be added in the
bank’s list and then the salary account can be opened and the work can be done properly.
Salary account is a form of savings account under product 1o5, 113 and 161. These are
zero balance accounts and any deposit by the account holder is not allowed. only the
company can deposit the salary in that account. For these accounts, the letterhead
recommendation of the company to the bank for opening the account of that employee is
also needed which will be signed by that employee. Also, there is a basic saving and
salary account called the Jan-Dhan Account or BSBDA Account which is opened with an
annexure to that account. All the documents enclosed will need to be self attested.
Closing an account: The customers who need to close their account due to reasons like
their outstanding amount is in negative and this is spoiling their CIBIL Score, or they are
finding it difficult to report it in the ITR every year or they are finding it difficult to
maintain that level of balance or they are in need of funds. Sometimes, when the account
is put to closure, it is due to the dormant situation of the account. In case the amount of
the account in the bank is in negative, and the account is to be put to closure and the
settlement of the account is done either with the need of the customers or with external
force applied by the bank over the customer for settlement, then, the account to be settled
is the last time that person can open an account in that bank. This person can no more
avail the services of HDFC bank. If the customer wishes to close the account, the account
closure form is made to sign by the customer and the amount thereby is to be transferred
to them via cheque payable to self or by a Demand Draft sent to the address. For this, the
account holder needs to meet the Branch Manager and get an application signed by him
giving permission to close that account. After and account is closed, it can no more be
activated again.
Updating the Passbook and printing of statements: Generally, this becomes the fun
time for the customers. They come to get their passbook updated and see the transactions
they have done. They do not check the balance on their net banking. They are adamant
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on getting their passbooks updated and then only they will be satisfied. one more thing,
the people are reluctant to open and join their net banking. Also, they are unwilling to
pay instant card rental of Rupees 59o, Rupees 85o or Rupees 12oo but they are also
unwilling to wait for one week to attain personalized cards. So they get their passbooks
updated and getting the account statements. The account statements can be generated
through the Flexcube software. oracle Flexcube is the name of the software which is used
in the bank for the daily work to be done. Each banking member has their own Flexcube
Passwords which is domain specific and needs to be maintained properly. Every day
there are multiple reports which are to be generated, printed, updated and submitted with
the acknowledgement of the Branch Manager and then the similar updates are to be sent
to the customers as well. Also, if the customers are not to be given the printout of the
statement, then they are sent the statement on their registered mail ID.
Field Visits: Being the intern for Segmentation and Penetration profile, I had to go for
field visits. I began going to places as far as 10 kilometers a day and getting the work
done. I was made to visit the customers with my PB or my RM, whichever the case may
be for the first few days of my field visits and then I was asked to do the pitching work.
Sometimes, I was introduced as the person in-charge for their accounts for some time to
come in the absence of the PB and RM. I was made to meet and greet the customers and
if possible, generate leads out of those meetings as well. In the beginning, I used to
stumble and was unaware about what has to be done and how to talk to the existing
customers so that they do not feel discomforted or disconnected but then slowly and
gradually, I started understanding from the way my RM or PB used to pitch the points or
inculcate business in between normal talks. This made me more confident and I was able
to motivate my profile customers to show interest in the products pitched. I was told that I
should not try to tell the customers to invest or purchase that product, rather I should tell
the customers that a scheme is launched and the benefits of the products very cleverly so
that product placement is done to make the customers aware and they also do not feel that
the product was placed out of the box without a valid context. I travelled everyday to
different customers and used to try and create the need for a product.
Filling forms: I also used to fill up the forms and Factiva of the customers and get the
UCIC checked. I learned doing the work done and the files management also along with
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some work at the teller counter of check clearing, cheque returns filing and the cheque
receiving. HDFC Bank believes that all its customers are the opportunities gift rapped so
they wanted to give less stress to the customers. For this, they made the customers just
sign the form and all the other details used to be filled by the bankers. They used to
delegate their works to me and I was made responsible for filling up all the forms so that
whatsoever be the case, in any ways, the customer is not at a risk of filling wrong
information or incorrect information and the mismatch occurs. I was made to fill u the
forms and as per the RBI and HDFC guidelines and then in case any information is
missing on the consumer’s side, call them and ask them regarding the same.
Net banking Activation: A lot of customers who used to open their accounts with the
banks did not keep in mind that their account has certain conditions to which they have
signed for. The Net banking activation, addition of nominee details, the bill pay
activation, the debit card activation and a minimum credit of 1ooo INR after one month
of account opening to avoid it from becoming a dormant account or an inactive account.
So, as a PB at WD, it was my job to tell the customers the same and tell them to take the
desired action, or if not, get them do their desired action so that their accounts do not
reflect as non-performing accounts under that branch. We used to ask the customers to
book an RD (Recurring Deposit) from their Net Banking so that not only activation
procedure is completed but the amount is saved for higher interests. These benefits the
banker as their productivity is counted for the day in booking RD and RD completion
targets as well as the customer gets slight high rates of interest rates on their savings.
Also, the bankers were asked to create the lead and convert it, I was asked to pitch all
sorts of products through net banking to the customers multiple times and tell them about
the different products and services provided by HDFC Bank. The customers used to
enquire about different things and products and we used to direct them to do the same
from their net banking. This was also counted in the banker’s productivity of net banking
activation from their tables. Each banker had to report their LG and LC of the day along
with the customer ID and the customer ID is checked at the end of the day before
declaring the fact that the productivity of the banker is actually met or not. Although the
customers views also mattered that the concerned banker met them or not. The bankers
had to maintain a rough sheet in excel and maintain their daily productivity in that sheet
as per the products.
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Payzapp Activation: Generally, the customers have become addicted to Paytm, which is
one stop payment gateway for all the small, micro and macro needs of the customers. It
has become a trusted bank with the customers for petty thing like mobile recharges, DTH
recharges and now the one stop digital shop for multi dimensional payments. It was
therefore mandatory for the bankers to encourage the customers to use the PayZapp App
of the bank which will function the same way PayTm does but it will give better cash
backs if used as a medium to spend money. This was also counted in the banker’s wallet.
With each PayZapp activation, a referral code was asked which was completely optional
and in case, the banker provides his/her referral code, it is counted in their productivity
and the banker gets INR 25 as an appreciation for the same.
Credit Cards, Personal loans, Business loans, gold loans and other loans pitching:
Credit cards sales and STP sales across the counters were counted as a huge success. All
the customers having good AQBs (Average Quarterly Balances) used to reflect with the
personal offers in their accounts. Whenever the customer used to arrive with the query, we
used to ask for the account numbers or the customer IDs of that customer. If the
information could not be provided by the customer regarding account number and the
customer ID, we used to see and check their data in the fast path CIM44 where with their
mobile numbers, PAN numbers and AAdhaar numbers. After all this, we used to retrieve
their account summaries and we could trace them in fast path 75o5 where the AQB of the
customers could be checked. With this, we used to see whether they have credit card or
other Personal loans, business loans and gold loans offers or not.
Reissue of debit cards and credit cards: Several times there were customers whose
cards used to break or loose in the normal day lives. one of the major reasons was the
cards mishandling or keeping in the wallet and wallet mishandling. Due to this, the cards
needs to be hotlisted or blocked via customer care or net banking and then a fresh card is
to be reissued. If the customer demands an instant card, or and insta card, as it is called,
they could be given an insta debit card with the proof of identity, a cancelled check leaf of
that account and a photostate or Xerox of the old card if available. Generally, a copy of
PAN card was taken as an ID Proof but in case the customer insists, we used to settle
upon AAdhaar card also as the ID proof. The credit card reissue could not be done across
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the counters and it had to be taken to the customer care to complaint and reissue the new
card.
Instructions: The work of a bank depends upon technology and not just any technology,
it depends upon personalized technology. For the ease of the customers, every customer is
provided with personalized banking services and for this matter, their emails and mobile
numbers are registered with the bank in case their accounts have some action, the
confirmatory or informatory message drops in their accounts and the customers can know
what is going on. But this technology comes with an ease of changing the modes of using
and giving importance to personalized services. Like, the mobile numbers of the
customers change with the change in time or the service providers. Also, in case of
devices non performance or breaking or the sim malfunction or the device been broken or
stolen, the customer looses track of their account details. So they need to change or
update their new means of information seeking. We as bankers need to provide them with
ease of platforms and so we also allow them to change their personal information
tracking details through the banks. For this purpose, the customers are asked to change
their detail using their personalized service of net banking and if the net banking is not
accessible, then contact number can also be changed using the ATM more options.
Similarly, if the customer has certain other instructions to the bank regarding any of their
investments, check books requests, or any other reverses, changes or any other standing
orders, they are called instructions and every day the instructions are made and sent to the
bank WBo in the city or to Mumbai or to Chennai as per the departments of the
instructions tackling may be. These instructions were sent twice or thrice daily depending
upon the form and the conditions and the urgency of the instructions.
Locker operation: When a customer comes to the branch for locker operation, the
customer has to tell the locker number or locker key number along with the locker hirer
name and either the account number or the customer ID or the address of the locker hirer
so that it is confirmed that the customer is the true face to use the locker services.
Locker updation: on 15th May 2o18, a mail was floated to all the employees of the
HDFC Bank regarding the locker instructions and the methods to use them. The locker
updation was now to be done on the software oracle Flexcube because the account
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linkage with the lockers was unavailable on the flexcube which included duplicacy of the
work to be done in an offline mode. Hence, the lockers had to be made online.
Teller counter: Sitting at the teller counter is a great responsibility. I was made to sit at
the teller counter and receive the cheques by the customers. I had to receive the cheques
and had to segregate them as per their banks. For example, if it is of HDFC, I had to keep
it separately and all the cheques of other branches to be kept separately. I had to receive
the cheques from the customers and then stamp it by using the receiving stamp. Also, at
the teller counter, the cheques of NEFT and RTGS were also received. So, I had to
collect them and give the customers the receiving of the NEFT/RTGS. But this was to be
done only till the time the final clearing of the cheques was not taken out at 11:3o PM.
Any cheques received after 11:3o PM had to drop in the drop box for clearing.
Kits and Tatkal register and authorization: Whenever a customer used to come for
account opening and he wished it to be insta account, then they were issued a debit card.
For this, they were made to sign the form if they opened an account, then they received
insta kit and the entry was done directly in the registers of the bank called Tatkal register.
If they wanted to have a reissue of cards, then they get just the card and not the kit and in
that case the entry is done in the tatkal register.
With this, my internship ended on 14th August 2o19. I sincerely thank all my mentors,
teammates, colleagues and friends who helped me spend these magical 6o days in
corporate life giving an experience of the world outside studies on practical grounds.
3. Essential takeaways
This was my first experience of working in a corporate setup and the people at my
workplace made these two months even more enriching. They always remained patient
with me and solved all my queries sincerely. If I was making a mistake, they would
correct me and guide me. Also, they used to make me understand the reason why they
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undertook certain aspects of th project.
49
When I interacted with any customer, they would observe what conversation we were having and
let me learn how to talk or pitch to a customer without much interference from their side. But,
they also provided me a space for my pitching ability to evolve and develop. They always came
at rescue if I called for some help or in case of an estranged customer in the bank. They believed
that customer interaction cannot be taught but only learned through experience. The employees
are also proud about the level of technological up gradation and implementation in the bank. The
automated machinery robot EVA was an exemplary example of the technological updation into
artificial intelligence. They have a thorough knowledge of the products and services they are
dealing with. Along with knowledge, they possess necessary communication skills that are
required to interact with customers. And the kind of communication changes depending on the
customer’s nature and language. For example, there was an elderly lady who visited our branch
for her account opening process and she wanted to avail the senior citizen advantage along with
the women’s advantage. But in case one type of account is in application, the second type of
account could not be availed together. But now this lady could not be tackled like the normal
customers because she is a senior citizen and it might be possible that she does not understands
anything about the banking process or this rule of the banking process. So there my RM
supported me and he talked to her in a manner she could relate to and understand. The lady not
just understood, but also was convinced that her banking was going into right hands. This made
me realize that the communication skills matters over and above the sales process.
The software used in the bank is Oracle Flexcube and it is a highly rated software for security.
HDFC Bank pays a lot of attention to the customer privacy. People like me, interns, non-banking
employees and payroll employees, BSOs and CSOs were not allowed to sit on the authorized
person’s chair or touch their systems. They used to say that even if organizational cordial
friendship is acknowledged, still, domain privacy and Flexcube privacy lies in the support of the
customer’s well wishing. They took utmost care that no information is given without proper
authorization by the customer and maintained high standards of customer data protection. In case
the password holder wishes to grant his/her password usage rights to someone, it was done only
after proper written mail to the HR, BM and all the other concerned authorities and the duration
and the purpose of sharing the domain password and flexcube password had to be clearly and
specifically mentioned. Also, the person who has received that password was responsible to mail
mark the concerned authorities with the acknowledgement of the receipt of the passwords and
must ensure them that it will not be misused by him under any circumstance and if it is misused,
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then he will be responsible till the time he is made liable to hold the details. After the duration of
password sharing is over, a mail has to be marked again to the same authorities by the password
holder stating that they have taken back the responsibility of their passwords and that they have
changed the password also. Also, the person who had taken the responsibility of the passwords in
the absence has to mail mark that he did not misuse the password and that he has handed over the
responsibility back to the person from whom he had taken it. Then the consent will be provided
to change the password and not share it again. Another example of the security maintained was
that if someone knows the user ID, which was the employee ID, of a person, he can try to
recover the password in the flexcube. For this purpose, if the password was wrongly typed even
if once in the login portal, the flexcube used to get locked till the original password holder
themselves requests in the User Authorization Manual (UAM) window for SIS. This itself tells
the level of secrecy and security maintained in the banking procedures.
When I interacted with them, I found out that the bank is very strict about meeting individual and
branch targets. They work in a constant pressure of achieving targets. However, the bank and
itsemployees genuinely thrive to help its customers and provide service. The bank organizes
competitions internally for employees and promises rewards if the employee achieves the
mentioned targets. This is how they motivate employees towards working harder. But to
formally check and evaluate the performance of all employees, an annual rating is done. The
rating is done on a scale of 1 to 5 Likert Scale where 1 was the Beast Performer, 2 was the Max
Performer, 3 was the Satisfactory Performer, 4 was Average Performer and 5 was the Poor
Performer to be kept under observation period for 180 days and if the condition stays the same,
then termination after the stipulated time period was done. Based on that, the best performer at
the branch receives a letter of appreciation and gets a hike in his salary along with bonus and
incentive, to compensate his/her exceptional performance and motivate the others for the same..
Power distance
The employee hierarchy existed in the branch only in terms of reporting to the senior authorities
about the work done and the performance made. Otherwise, all employees were free to ask help
from their reporting head or from the branch manager himself. If some employee was going to
meet an important potential client and if he feels the need, then he would ask the branch manager
or personal banker or the personal banker authorizer or any other senior to accompany them in
order to convert the deal or close the deal. Their senior would readily agree and support the
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employee convert the call. Thus, the relationship among the branch manager or other reporting
heads and the employees was more of a mentor-mentee than of one being the boss and the other
one an employee. Also, outside the branch and off- duty, no power show off was sighted.
Points of conflict
Most of the conflicts with customers pertained to the bank debiting charges from their account.
Most of the times, the customers were unaware of the nature of charges which created a feeling
of distrust among them. However, after giving an explanation most of the customers understood.
There were also that set of customers who complained about the bank debiting charges for a
service that got activated in their account without their knowledge. For example, there was a
customer who received a mail on his ID which said that due to balance deficiency in his account,
his payment for his RD could not be completed. Due to this, he was infuriated as he did not
subscribe for any such RDs. So he visited the branch and then it came into notice that his account
was in Dobson road branch but his RD was activated from Other branch. So this was a major
flaw and the customer was so infuriated with this that he was adamant to close all his accounts
and his family member’s accounts from our branch. But here I used my intellect and made him
write a letter which stated that he did not ask for any such service and that in future he also never
will. And in case he will want to avail it, he will give it in writing. Other than that, if his account
shows any service unasked for or unsubscribed for, he will report in the consumer service
forums. This way, he could avoid the mess that had happened and can happily sway through the
banking process. Such type of customers were the most difficult to handle.
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Opportunities
In a way, every customer entering the branch is an opportunity for the bank. As our
branch was located in a commercial area, there was a set of customers who were very
highly educated and had immense knowledge on various avenues of investment, but
they were either hesitant to block their money or were uninterested in another mind
occupying work. Such customers remained untapped and can be a source of
opportunity for the bank. Also, BSBDA account holders who held zero balance
accounts remained untapped. The need of every customer class is different. Thus,
giving them customized solutions as to how will a particular investment help them and
in what way, they can make a difference and increase the number of customers
investing.
Issues
The team is highly pressurized to achieve their targets, sometimes they take to morally
wrong paths. This led to creation of certain services for some innocent customers who
do not understand that they have been trapped and exploited. For example, we had a
customer in our branch who held salary account with our bank. He was not having an
ATM card or a cheque book and he wanted to withdraw money on an urgent basis for
his son’s education. So he came to the branch asking for the delivery of instant card.
Now, the stock in the branch was requiring replenishment but the indent wasn’t dropped
in time so the Salary account debit card kit of 161 code did not arrive. The branch
should have ideally given him a withdrawal slip which would lead to a charge of
Rupees 118 on the instant withdrawal. Instead, they gave him a rewards card which has
an annual charge of Rupees 590 which kept the customer on a losing end.
Observations
The bank focused a lot on new customer acquisitions and retentions. It is
completely customer centric and less employee centric. Employees had to give
customers priority and at times had to go to meetings even after their working
hours. The bank demanded them to do so.
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I observed that all the employees were knowledgeable and were able to interact
well with all the customers. But, I personally felt that more customer
interaction is required. For every profile, there are a number of customer
interactions an employee needs to have with him/her in a given duration.
Constant follow-ups are required in order to build healthy relations with a
customer.
To increase customer interaction, the bank can organize seminars related to
investment and its benefits. By doing this, they will be able to contact more
customers at one time and which will be beneficial for them. Also, every
customer class has a different set of requirements and invests with different
purposes. Thus, they should address such points in the seminar.
I observed over two months that all the employees gave lesser importance to
BSBDA customers, i.e., to those who had zero balance accounts with the bank.
However, if these customers are tapped and good relations are maintained then
they can also give business to the bank. They can give smaller amounts, but
their number is high. This can also become a differentiating factor for HDFC
bank and help create an image of a socially responsible bank.
Another observation made by me was about organizational politics and
friendship. All employees had cordial relations with each other but all of them
also knew that they were responsible for only their key responsibility areas.
Deliquesce Management System: This is process in which the customer is
provided with a token number and that token number is used to direct the
customer to the respective counters when his turn arrives. In present scenario, in
HDFC bank, the customers come at their own wished time and then they wish
to get their work done early and with full concentration, but in bigger branches
or busy bank days, it becomes really difficult to manage all the customers and
allot full time to each of them. This leads to customer dissatisfaction. To avoid
this, DMS is a tool which can be easily implemented and which can save a lot
of chaos.
Kiosk Machines: These are the automated machines for the balance enquiry,
passbook printing and statement generation. This will avoid counter rush and
provide a common platform for all the users to self service themselves.
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II.2. SEGMENTATION
Market segmentation is the research that determines how your organization divides its
customers or cohort into smaller groups based on characteristics such as, age, income,
personality traits or behavior. These segments can later be used to optimize products
and advertising to different customers.
55
SEGMENTATION ON THE BASIS OF AGE GROUP AT DOBSON ROAD BRANCH
60%
50%
40%
30%
AMOUNT OF CUSTOMERS
(SA)
20%
10%
0%
MINOR A/CNORMAL A/C SR CITIZEN A/C
(BELOW 18)(ABOVE 18 )(ABOVE 60)
INTERPRETATION – Majority of the savings account holders belong under the head of
normal account Holders here as SR.Citizens comes up 2nd in the list
NO. OF CUSTOMERS
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
NO. OF CUSTOMERS
30%
20%
10%
0%
INTERPRETATION – A large no. of unmanaged customers can be seen, where as there are several
managed customers too which are managed by respective relationship
managers.
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SEGMENTATION OF THE CUSTOMERS WHO FIND ONLINE BANKING EASY
Chart Title
ONLINE BANKINGBRANCH BANKING
10%
90%
INTERPRETATION – Here we can see that majority of the people are having the opinion that online
Banking is easy, (90% online banking, 10% branch banking) .
Chart Title
SAVINGS ACCOUNTCURRENT ACCOUNTSALARY ACCOUNTOTHERS
3%2%
15%
80%
INTERPRETATION – Here majority of the account holders have savings account (80%) ,then comes
the current A/C therefore salary and other A/C are least in numbers
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II.4. MARKET PENETRATION
The activity or fact of increasing the market share of an existing product, or promoting a new
product, through Strategies such as bundling, advertising, lower prices, volume discounts.
58
Total market share of the banks as per the research conducted within the 500
metre of the branch
No. Of Customers
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
INTERPRETATION – From the above research we can observe that HDFC bank has the highest no.
Market share within the 500 metre area of the bank whereas ICICI stands second. The above analysis
have been with the help of more than 200 sample data collected manually in various Areas around the
Dobson road branch (within 500m). Therefore, we can say that the market penetration of HDFC bank
within 500m of the branch is 40% whereas 60% of the target market is yet to be captured, various
penetration strategies should be adopted in order to Capture the remaining target market.
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PART III
During the span of two months, apart from understanding the functioning of entire branch and
understanding inter-dependence of various departments, I was also assigned the work of
generating leads. It can be for any product, i.e., loan, SIP, FD, RD, insurance, savings account,
current accounts, credit cards, loans and other products. However, as most of the walk-in
customers in the branch were already account holders with the bank or representatives of the
account holders, by the nature of the interaction itself, I pitched for Recurring Deposits more
because of the investment capturing market. While interacting with customers, I understood their
nature and figured out what they exactly needed and pitched accordingly. Thus, this helped me
experience and understand the behaviour of customers with respect to any investment decisions
that they had to make. Also, guidance of the seniors and fellow workers gave an important insight.
Demographic factors
Age of a customer has direct impact on the investment decision as it is connected to
his/her risk taking capacity. Generally, young people in the age group of 18-4o years have
more risk taking capacity and senior citizens have a lesser risk taking capacity.
Investment decision also depends on the family condition and situation of the
individual. For example, if an individual has two children who are in
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school then it is obvious that he/she will require money for his/her children’s
higher education or marriage.
Income distribution level of the customer is the most important factor that affects
investment decision of a customer. Along with income, dependants in his/her family are
also related. If more number of dependents exist, then the individual will not be able to
save more hence, saving lesser money for investment. Such people will also be risk
averse.
Educational qualification of a person has major impact on an individual’s decision as
most of the times highly educated people understand the importance of investment.
While, other set of customers need to be given this knowledge or are just ignorant about
the same.
Gender played an important role. Several times a female customer showed keen interest in
investment but did not have the decision making power. They answered that they need to
ask their husband before taking the decision.
Religious and cultural factors
The religion of a customer has major impact. For example, Muslims do not invest much
as they follow different set of financial principles mentioned under Islamic Finance.
Different cultures have different investment patterns. There are some castes and cultures
who invest more in fixed assets such as gold and house property while there is another set
that invests more in capital markets.
Environmental factors
The environment, in which an individual is brought up, shapes his/her personality. A
person’s personality also affects investment decisions. For example, if an individual has
had a bad experience in his/her previous investments then he/she is bound to become risk
averse and will be over cautious. on the other hand, if an individual has good knowledge
and is willing to take calculated risk, then his/her investment decisions will differ.
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Purpose of investment
The purpose of investment also decides the duration of investment. If an individual is
investing to travel after few years, then his/her investment duration would be short.
However, if an individual is investing for the future of his/her children or planning
his/her retirement, the duration is bound to be longer.
If a purchase decision is to make a high impact on the individual’s life then he/she is bound to
have high involvement. But if the decision does not affect his/her lifestyle much then the
involvement remains on a lower side. For example, deciding which toothpaste to purchase will
demand less involvement as it will not affect a customer’s lifestyle to that extent. If he/she does
not like it, then the next they won’t buy it. However, if an individual is buying a residential
property then there would be high involvement in decision making as this decision would change
his/her lifestyle. Changing the place of residence needs consideration of factors such as
surroundings and neighbourhood. In case of an investment decision, an individual is planning for
the safe future of his/her family.
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III.3. Sales pitch/process of offering investment product to a customer
No customer feels that he/she needs to investment for the future. This need has to be created.
The customer needs to be enlightened about the benefits he/she would get by making
that investment. Now, these benefits would differ for every customer. If the customer
does not pay much attention to the benefits, then he/she can be told about the
consequences of not investing. Therefore, it is crucial that one interacts with the
customer and figures out his/her nature and judge the investment type to offer. The best
way to offer and sell a financial product is to understand the thought process of your
customer. Thus, investment need has to be created in most of the cases.
Walk-in customers who have come to the branch for some work, can be interacted with
and the idea of investment can be shared with them. As I was asked to generate maximum
leads for Systematic Investment Plans, I asked the customers if they invest or not. If the
customer said yes, I would ask about their current investment and accordingly suggest
them investment options. Pitching for SIP is easier as you can convince the customer by
saying that the minimum amount to start is Rs 1ooo. This sure seems to work as the
amount of investment is low and recurring.
The second type is when the customer upfront comes to make an investment. In such a
case, the purpose of investment is clear in mind of customer. Therefore, related products
are to be offered. In this case, cross-selling of products can also be done.
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2. Focusing on the decision maker
If two customers have been approached, then one should find out who the decision maker is and
focus on convincing them more. Because ultimately, the power of taking decision lies with
him/her. In most of the cases, this power was vested with the male member of the family. I had
many instances when I pitched the product to a female customer and she had shown keen interest
but, in the end, left the decision to a male member of her family. Therefore, this ratio is skewed
towards the male gender.
3. Follow-up
Most of the times, the customer will not agree for the investment in one go. Regular follow-ups
need to be taken. This is the time to build strong relations with the potential customer. one can
help them in their other banking transactions and make them feel as a valuable customer to the
bank. Because the customer needs to be given service, only then they will listen to you. The most
important thing to gain in this time is the customer’s trust. For example, I was pitching to a
female customer for SIP and she shared her past experience with me when she had been cheated
by someone in name of a similar scheme. At that time, I assured her that no such thing will
happen with our bank as the conversation is happening inside the bank, in front of other
employees and therefore her investment would be safe. Then ultimately she understood and
showed positive signs. However, there is a fine line between taking follow ups and spamming
the customer with calls and messages. This line should never be crossed. To initiate a healthy
working relation, I have even called a potential customer to wish on her birthday. Now one
should not bring up the point of investment at that time. When to bring up the investment point
and when not to, it is very tactical in nature. It is all about the timing.
There will also be those set of customers who will say a clear no and they should not be
contacted again by the employee. Because the way you behave with a customer directly projects
the bank and he/she identifies the bank through your name and face.
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4. Closing the call
After regular follow-ups, when the customer finally agrees, no time should be wasted and the
sales should be closed as soon as possible. Because investment decisions are more psychological
in nature. During the time, if the customer gets to know about a bad experience of someone then
their decision can change.
After the investment scheme starts, the employee should still keep in touch with the customer.
This strengthens the customer’s relations with the bank and portrays a good image of the bank.
For example, after constant follow-ups, when my customer finally came to the branch to invest in
SIP, it was my last day at work. At that time, I felt that it was important for me to tell her that it
was my last day. Because if she wouldn’t have found me the next time she visited the branch, a
sense of fear of being cheated again would pass through her. Thus, in order to avoid such
situation I disclosed that it was my last day and showed her the person to contact in case of
future transactions.
The role of after sales service is also to keep in touch with the customer such that he/she
remembers you. If the customer wants any advice related to banking or investment he/she should
contact you. That is how you keep in touch with a customer and are able to pitch more products
in future as well.
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PART-V
CONCLUSION
The project was basically related with field work, to meet the customers with relationship
managers and personal bankers as well. Therefore I also stayed at the branch for quite a several
times and therefore observed the work going on there inside the bank. During my tenure I
collected several sample of manual data which helped me in the process of segmentation and also
in order to find or the total market penetration of the bank.
The job also involved in learning about the various products and services about the bank and
observing the bankers in charge of sales while they have a talk with the customers. This helped us
to learn how to talk differently with different customers and the way of customizing the product
and services according to the demand of the customers. The bankers had individual targets and
how they worked towards achieving it was a great learning
HDFC BANK is India’s no. 1 bank with a positive reputation in the market, therefore it was
quite exciting
and wonderful to work with such an organization. Am thankful to each and every bank
employee who helped me and guided to learn and understand various things. Overall it was a
great experience working in the banking sector especially in one of the most respectable private
sector bank. This internship has by all means
prepared us for the corporate world. The challenges we faced during the entire internship and
overcoming them will help us to serve better in the corporate world in future.
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SUGGESTIONS
Each and every customers should be properly explained about the product which is
being sold so that they would not have any confusion in future, and therefore there will
be a good relation between the customer and bank.
Bank should maintain an image of service oriented rather than sales oriented in order to
have good reputation among the customer and in the market as well.
Every customer should be treated equally and no partiality should be there in providing
services.
Maximum congestion or crowd in bank is for cash deposits therefore just like bank
introduced a passbook printing machine they can also introduce an automatic cash
deposit machine too.
The passbook printing machine in atm should be checked regularly an maintenance
should be done in a proper manner so that the customers won’t get harassed.
Customers should be properly educated about net banking facilities so that their task
could be easily done and time can also be saved with the help of this.
Each and every employee should be properly trained so that they could guide the
customers in an efficient manner.
Proper greetings should be done while meeting the customer so that the image of bank
could have positive impact in the mind of customer
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BIBLOGRAPHY
https://www.marketing91.com/swot-analysis-hdfc/
https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/banking-and-financial-services/704-hdfc.html
http://fernfortuniversity.com/term-papers/porter5/analysis/987-hdfc-bank-limited.php
https://www.slideshare.net/harsharyan/strategic-analysis-of-hdfc-bank
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/largest-opportunity-for-
https://www.hdfcbank.com/
https://www.slideshare.net/xmanjd/hdfc-banks-strategies
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/hdfc-bank-ltd/infocompanymanagement/companyid-
9195.cms
https://www.hdfcbank.com/assets/pdf/ANALYST_MEET_2019_final.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDFC_Bank#Further_reading
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HDFC Bank's innovative strategies in retail banking, such as launching the first International Debit Card in India and maintaining a robust credit card business, have significantly contributed to its reputation. This is supported by high-quality service delivery, a strong technological foundation, and extensive customer interaction. These elements have propelled the bank's contribution to over 50% of India's CASA deposits, bolstering its position as the leading private sector bank .
HDFC Bank manages intense rivalry among existing competitors by building a sustainable differentiation, scaling up to compete effectively, and collaborating with competitors to increase the market size rather than solely competing for a small market share. This approach allows them to gain a comprehensive understanding of industry trends and adapt quickly to exploit emerging opportunities .
HDFC Bank's private banking sector addresses various investment needs through offerings such as direct equity, mutual funds, fixed income products, alternate funds, structured products, and estate planning. This diverse portfolio allows the bank to meet the specific financial goals of its clientele, providing tailored solutions that maximize returns while managing risk according to the client's profile .
Despite high pressure to achieve targets, HDFC Bank maximizes operational efficiency by maintaining knowledgeable staff and prioritizing customer interactions as a core function. However, it lacks motivational support programs, which are essential for sustained employee performance. The bank encourages employees to focus on customer relations and target achievements, often requiring them to work beyond standard hours to meet these objectives effectively .
HDFC Bank's treasury business consists of foreign exchange and derivatives, local currency money market and debt securities, and equities. These elements enable the bank to manage market risks and return on investments, contributing to robust financial management. The bank holds 25% of its deposits in government securities as part of statutory reserve requirements, influencing its investment strategy and overall financial stability .
HDFC Bank leverages a technology platform with open scalable systems to deliver a wide range of products to more customers efficiently while controlling operating costs. This strategic use of technology supports innovative product development and service delivery, helping the bank maintain high standards for asset quality and enhance customer experience. It effectively positions HDFC Bank as adaptable and responsive to market changes, thereby strengthening its competitive edge in the banking sector .
HDFC Bank's strategic objectives are shaped by its strong emphasis on ethical standards and corporate governance, aiming to build sound customer franchises and preferred banking services. This commitment ensures compliance with regulations and enhances trust and reliability among customers, contributing to consistent growth in profitability. Adhering to these standards supports the bank's vision of benchmarking against international best practices and achieving global recognition .
HDFC Bank achieves high customer satisfaction through comprehensive service offerings, cutting-edge technology integration, and excellent customer relations, including quick conflict resolution. Additionally, their ATM and debit cards are highly compatible with international networks like Visa and MasterCard, which enhances convenience for users. Organizational focus on customer-centricity and ethical standards further reinforce customer trust and satisfaction .
HDFC Bank's segmentation and penetration strategy significantly enhances its market reach by targeting specific customer needs in commercial areas. The strategy involves field visits and tailored pitches that create a demand for banking products while directly addressing customer investments. By understanding diverse customer classes and their distinct requirements, HDFC Bank successfully taps into commercial areas to increase customer engagement and market presence .
HDFC Bank perceives the Indian market as its largest opportunity for growth due to the country's expanding economy and the significant portion of the population that remains unbanked or underbanked. The bank's focus on an omni-channel strategy is aimed at tapping into this potential by increasing market share among retail and wholesale customer segments. By doing so, the bank aims to leverage domestic opportunities more effectively than international growth avenues .