Private sector banks

Private sector banks

a. Indian Private Sector banks
These are banks incorporated in India. Public and business houses are the major shareholders of these banks. Majority of these banks belong to the category of old generation private banks characterized by small balance sheet size, regional operations, traditional style of management and business activities. The other category of private sector banks is the new generation banks, incorporated post-1993. These banks are technology- driven, aggressive in business development and display a style of functioning comparable to foreign banks operating in India. These banks adopt a riety of delivery channels. Some of these have become big with merger and acquisition and now have country-wide operations.

b. Foreign Banks
These are the banks incorporated abroad but granted license by RBI to do banking business in India through their Indian branches. While the total number of foreign banks in India is larger than the total number of private sector banks, the branch network of these foreign banks is smaller and confined mostly to the metropolis/big commercial centres. Their operations are technology driven and a good part of their business comprises foreign exchange, export/import finance and merchant banking.

c. Local Area Banks
These are banks which have been given license to function in a given area and are not highly capitalized. There are only four Local Area Banks in the country.