We have covered a lot on Indian banks and their features in our different posts. This time we bring for you an exclusive list of Top 10 Foreign Banks in India having a strong presence in the Indian territory.
A lot of things changed with the advent of liberalisation policies that carried their ripple effect throughout the decade, shaping the economy of India as we know today. While it was certainly the first push towards private businesses, it also happened to be the first time India opened its arms to foreign investment. Today, let’s look at few International banks that have established firm roots in India.
TOP FOREIGN BANKS IN INDIA
A pattern that you’ll notice here, is that most of these banks were formed and established after Dr.Manmohan Singh’s LPG policies, which is no accident given that there was a level of hostility not only towards foreign businesses, but toward any privately owned businesses.
So, we followed a particular form of a mixed economy with communism carrying a higher weight. Also, order no way indicative of ranking.
1. CITI BANK
Famous for its tagline ‘Citi never Sleeps’, this happens to be not only one of the India’s oldest banks, but happens to be globally one of the oldest functional banks. Established in New Yok in the year 1812, Citi expanded globally in the late 19th century and expanded to India in the year 1902, its first headquarters being Kolkata given the fact that it was at that time the centre of British stronghold.
However, it did not reserve its clientele, and currently has over 40 branches across multiple cities and over 700 ATMs.
2. STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
Standard Chartered Bank happens to be a British company, which is currently the largest international bank in terms of volumes of branches and ATMs. Currently, it has over a 100 branches across 40+ cities, and the bank employs hundreds of thousands of employees all over the country, the current count being somewhere around 87000 employees. The bank made its way to India in the year 1969.
The bank’s headquarters are in London, and in terms of services, it is very comprehensive along with providing the basic CASA services.
3. HSBC BANK
Talking of British banks, it is impossible to miss out on HSBC, another British bank established in Great Britain in 1865. Currently, the bank’s global headquarters happen to be in London, while in India it operates in more than 50 branches and serves a clientele of more than 1 lakh customers. Its Indian headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra and services include retail as well commercial banking.
Moreover, HSBC happens to be the bank which opened the first ATM in India in the year 1987.
4. DEUSTCHE BANK
Deustche Bank is a German entity, established in the year 1980 in Germany. Also, we don’t know who needs this, but its pronounced ‘doy-cheh’. In terms of branches, Deustche is actually a bit smaller considering its 18 branches.
However, working in those 18 branches are more than a 100000 people serving more than half a million customers.
5. ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND
Royal Bank of Scotland, spoiler alert, is a bank from Scotland. It is, however, a prominent name in the Indian financial circles and has been operating in India for over 90 years, its first branch being opened in the year 1921.
Currently, the bank has over 10 branches providing services like foreign exchange, corporate banking, insurance, etc. It is but one of the most trusted banks globally, and is said to have over 700 branches.
6. DBS BANK
The Development Bank of Singapore Ltd, or DBS is a Singaporean multinational entity that serves millions of customers globally. The bank entered Indian markets for political reasons more than financial one. However, it has still managed to be one of the reliant banks in India.
Its Indian headquarters are in Maharashtra, and the bank operates through 12 branches in India. Services include loans, credit cards, and being an international bank, a ton of NRI services.
7. BARCLAYS BANK
Barclay’s bank is another British bank, also one of the largest bank around the globe. It serves more than 5 million customers throughout the world, and the British bank has 7 branches in India. It is a well known fact among financial circles that it happens to be one of the top banks in terms of NRI services.
It is the largest and one of the oldest banks in the world, established in 1690 in England.
8. BANK OF AMERICA
Bank of America, established in America has its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States of America. This is also one of the political strategy banks, which is to say it was mainly expanded in India to have smoother, cordial international relationship with, you guessed it, America.
The bank was functional in the year 1964, and as of today only has 5 branches in India. However, it is still globally one of the largest banks, serving 4.9 million customers.
9. BANK OF BAHRAIN AND KUWAIT
Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait was established in the year 1971 in the kingdom of Bahrain and state of Kuwait (it’s really not that complicated). The shareholders consist of people and the government of Bahrain. It has about 16 branches in Bahrain, and about 3-4 branches in India, and it isn’t really that big of a bank in terms of volume.
However, it is proclaimed that what it lacks in volume it makes up in quality of service, and provides services like credit cards, loans, fixed deposits, etc.
10. DOHA BANK
Doha Bank is actually a much more new entrant to the Indian financial markets, being established only in 2014. However, the bank has made its name and made it well within the last 6 years, and is considered to be a major league player. It has three branches as of now, in Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi but has plans for expansion in the current decade.
Internationally, the bank operates in a ton of Asian and European countries.
FOREIGN BANKS IN INDIA
This was our list of leading foreign banks making a stronghold in the banking industry. Do you have any other foreign bank name to add here? Feel free to share in the comments.
With all this talk of international investment in India, it is important to say the least to be aware of the financial entities serving them.
