(Bloomberg) – HDFC Bank Ltd. shares fell after the Indian lender said its former Managing Director Aditya Puri sold almost all of its holdings before its retirement in October.
Puri sold 7.4 million shares, more than 95% of its stake in the country’s most valuable bank, for Rs 8.43 billion ($ 113 million) on the market from July 21 to 23, according to an exchange document.
HDFC Bank shares fell as much as 3.4% on Monday morning in Mumbai. The stock has lost 15% this year, outperforming the Bankex benchmark, which is down 31%.
After 26 years at the helm, Puri will retire in October when he turns 70, the age limit set by the Reserve Bank of India for heads of private banks. The lender awaits RBI approval for one of the three shortlisted candidates to succeed him.
Puri had nearly 7.8 million shares in the lender before the sale, or 0.14% of the outstanding shares, according to the filing. Now it has around 0.01%. The shares were assigned to Puri at different times and prices and the amount he made was less than Rs 8.4 billion after accounting for tax and acquisition costs, a bank spokesman said in a statement Sunday.
HDFC Bank has been able to protect itself during a protracted shadow banking crisis that started two years ago. It has also maintained its strong growth momentum in recent months, even as the financial sector faced massive stress from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
More recently, however, the lender has come under scrutiny from the central bank over allegations of improper lending in its vehicle loan business.
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