On Teacher’s Day, Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma heaps praises on HDFC Bank’s Aditya Puri; here’s what he said

Heaping praises on HDFC Bank CEO, Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma said that he hoped to acquire just 10% of Aditya Puri’s cast banking knowledge. “I think HDFC is the defining bank of this country. No other bank has lead the space for so many decades. Mr Puri is the most jovial banker I know, talking to him is like learning life lessons beyond financial lessons. I wish I learn just 10% of banking from him, as much he knows,” Vijay Shekhar Sharma told in an interview to ET Now.

Notably, parent One97 Communications has also launched a direct mutual funds investment platform in Paytm Money, which has tied up with close to 25 AMCs (Asset Management Companies). “Vijay is the most hardworking, enthusiastic and hard-working individual that I’ve seen. If I can learn 10% of technology from him, I think if I learn 10% technology from him, I’d be very very happy. We’re trying to get a lot of technology into finance and he’s trying to get a lot of finance into technology. I think we will try to come together on some issues as we go along,” Aditya Puri told the channel.

Last week, Paytm also grabbed headlines, after the firm received about $350 million in funding from legendary billionaire investor Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway. “I’m a big fan of Mr Aditya Puri. I had a meeting with him earlier scheduled for just 30 minutes, and it went on for two-and-a-half hours, where he gave me life lessons and benchmarks,” Sharma recalled.

Aditya Puri said that Paytm is slated to big profits in the near future. Asked whether HDFC Bank has some specific secret sauce to keep NPAs at bay, Puri said that one needs to price in risk, the probability of default and have very good systems, apart from not getting too tempted. “The way things are changing with technology and telecommunication, fundamentally technology is an enabler to provide better product to the customer,” he noted.

When Sharma asked the veteran banker for 2 lessons for Paytm, Puri quipped, “Now you’re past that. I would have told you 2 years back. You’re too sophisticated for such lessons. You better ask Alibaba that.”

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