The same property in central Mumbai was available at Rs750 crore a year back

Private sector lender Axis Bank has bought a 4 lakh sq ft property at a Bombay Dyeing mill at Parel in central Mumbai for setting up its corporate office, at Rs782 crore. PJ Nayak, ex-CEO, Axis Bank, had proposed the purchase of this property a year ago (March 2009) at Rs750 crore. The proposal was earlier turned down by the board of directors stating that the Bank could wait for the property prices to soften further (according to various media reports).

Earlier (March 2009) the board did not go ahead with the deal because it thought that it was a costly arrangement, but it has now gone ahead and concluded the same deal under Shikha Sharma, managing director and chief executive officer, Axis Bank, at a higher price. A few board members had also felt that the bank should conserve capital in wake of the prevailing financial market turmoil.

Moneylife wanted to know the reason for the change in decision but the mail sent to the Bank remained unanswered. The bank is shifting its corporate headquarters from Cuffe Parade (south Mumbai) to central Mumbai by the end of the current fiscal. — Moneylife Digital Team