Indian Banks and Branches of Foreign Banks in India

It wouldn’t be prudent to overlook Indian development banks, commercial banks, and branches of U.S. commercial banks as possible sources of financing for the in-country part of a joint venture. Examples include the Industrial Development Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank. Standard Charter Bank, which is based in India, is partly owned by foreign banks as a result of a merger in the 1990s. Consolidation in the Indian banking sector is a hot topic of discussion right now. Like everything else in India, however, this may have changed by the time you read this book.

The Reserve Bank of India continues to open the door a little at a time for foreign banks that want to set up operations in India, and everyone is cautiously confident that this is only the beginning of a new era in foreign banking in India. Foreign banks in India are permitted to set up local subsidiaries, but they may not acquire Indian ones (except for weak banks identified by the Reserve Bank of India, on its terms) and their Indian subsidiaries will not be able to open branches without government approval. Countries with banks in India include the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Ceylon, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, Canada, Bahrain, Scotland, and Switzerland. A partial list includes the following: