IDFC FIRST Bank Senior Management takes 10% pay cut

Chennai: IDFC FIRST Bank today announced that its senior management has volunteered to take a 10% cut in compensation in the current financial year 2020-21. Mr. V Vaidyanathan, MD & CEO, IDFC FIRST Bank, has voluntarily offered to take a pay cut of 30% in his compensation including Fixed compensation as well as all allowances. Mr. Vaidyanathan said, “Such pay cut forms part of the Bank’s austerity measures which start at the top. Further, we feel the pain our customers, big, small, micro enterprises and people at large are going through, and we also want to be empathetic to the situation.”
The management is reviewing the impact of the pandemic every day and is making all efforts to safeguard customer interest in line with its mission statement which recognizes the customer as its First Stakeholder. The Bank’s branches and customer service teams have been operating at near-to-full capacity with minimal reduction in services throughout the lockdown to meet its customers’ needs.
On the employee front, the Bank has honored all offers that were made to new hires before the pandemic, including all lateral hires as well as 550 management trainees. This is in keeping with the Bank’s philosophy of honoring its commitments in all circumstances.
The Bank also paid 100% of the variable pay to 78.2% of employees for the period pertaining to FY 19- 20 despite the arrival of the pandemic. Variable pay for FY 19-20 was cut more, progressively, for employees with greater seniority, and bonus for senior management was cut by 65% of the eligible amount.
IDFC FIRST Bank’s employees voluntarily contributed one day’s salary totaling Rs. 3.29 crore to the PM CARES Fund. In addition, the Bank contributed Rs 5 crore to the PM CARES Fund to support the nation’s fight against coronavirus. In addition, Mr. Vaidyanathan personally contributed Rs. 47 lacs to COVID relief, including Rs. 25 lacs to the PM CARES Fund for COVID Relief and Rs. 5 lacs for Chief Ministers COVID Relief Fund. Inclusive of employees’ contribution, the Bank contributed a total amount of Rs. 10.86 crore towards the COVID Relief related activities so far and continues its work in this area. A large number of these activities are centered in Maharashtra.
The Bank also launched a number of COVID relief initiatives that involved its customers and employees at large. These included Ask-for-Mask, Gaon-Gaon Mask, Shramik-Sahayata Program, Share-a-meal, Jaankari mein Samajhdari, COVID Warrior-on-Wheels, and Give India Foundation programs. Under these programs, the Bank has selected women borrower customers and is paying them at commercial rates for producing 3.5 lac masks which are distributed in their own rural and urban communities, providing cash support of Rs. 3000 to migrant laborers, paying select customers and NGOs for preparing and distributing meals for displaced workers, spreading awareness about COVID prevention through catchy videos in vernacular languages, and providing home-to-hospital-to-home car pick-up service for doctors and healthcare workers. The implementation of these programs is monitored at the highest levels at the Bank.
The Bank is committed to playing its part in supporting customers as well as vulnerable communities during this difficult period.