Banking in India began in the year 1786 with the establishment of the General Bank of India and later Bank of Hindustan came into existence. However, these two banks are not currently functioning in India.

At present, the oldest bank in India position is held by the State Bank of India, which came into existence in the year 1806. Now, not only public sector banks, but a number of private sector banks are also functioning in India. The list of leader in the banking sector is given below:

Top ten banks in India:

• State Bank of India

• HDFC Bank

• Axis Bank

• Bank of India

• Punjab National Bank

• Bank of Baroda

• ICICI Bank Limited

• Union Bank of India

• Citibank

• Canara Bank

A small description about these leaders in the banking sector is given below:

State Bank of India:

State Bank of India has been dominating the Indian Banking Sector right from its initial stages. The bank is accounting for nearly 20% of the deposit base of the Indian Banking system and it holds almost 20% of the credit portfolio. The associates of this bank are:

• State Bank of Travancore

• State Bank of Saurashtra

• State Bank of Patiala

• State Bank of Mysore

• State Bank of Indore

• State Bank of Hyderabad

• State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur

HDFC Bank:

Housing Development Finance Corporation Bank Limited came into existence in the year 1994. The bank has set global standards for itself by maintain quality of their products and by offering expertise services. Some of the services offered by this bank are:

• Internet Banking

• Payment services

• Forex Services

• Insurance & Investment

• Prepaid cards

• Debit cards

• Credit cards

• Loans

• Private banking

• Fixed, current and savings accounts

Axis Bank:

The earlier name of Axis bank was UTI Bank and it came into existence in the year 1994. The bank holds the pride of being the first in the private banking field when government of India offered permission for operation of private banks. The bank was offered its current name in the year 2007 and the services offered by this bank are:

• Priority Banking

• NRI

• Corporate Banking

• Personal Banking

Bank of India:

Bank of India has been one of the leaders in introducing important schemes in the areas of risk management, international operations, technology and distribution. The main aims of the bank include increasing international services and capabilities, strengthening revenue streams, expanding delivery channels and strengthening customer relations. Bank of India is offering different types of loans like:

• Agriculture loans

• Priority castor loans

• SME

• NRI Loans

• Trade finance loans

• Commercial loans

• Personal loans

Punjab National Bank:

Punjab National Bank meets the banking requirements of 3.5 crore customers through a network of more than 4500 offices. The bank is ranked at the 21st place among top 500 companies all over the world and the Economic Times has awarded the bank as the Most Trusted Bank in India award. Some of the banking services offered by Punjab National Bank are:

• Trade and International banking finance

• Agricultural finance

• Industrial finance

• Personal banking

• Corporate banking

Bank of Baroda:

Bank of Baroda came into existence in the year 1908 and the bank has been expanding steadily right from its inception. The bank has branches in 25 countries and it is offering uncompromising service to employees, stockholders and customers. The services offered by Bank of Baroda can be broadly classified under the following heads:

• Personal services

• Corporate services

• Domestic services

• International services

ICICI Bank Limited:

ICICI Bank has branches all over the country and it offers a huge variety of services in asset management, venture capital, life and non-life insurance, investment banking and retail banking. With the view to offer service to the global clients, the bank aims at strengthening its international operations through its subsidiaries at different countries like Dubai, Singapore, Canada, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Union Bank of India:

Union Bank of India was registered in the year 1919 as a private company in Mumbai and later its inauguration was done in the year 1947 by the father of our nation. The bank was offered the status of national bank in the year 1975 and the bank has representative offices at different countries like China, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates.

Citibank:

In India, Citibank was established in the year 1902 and it was actually established in the year 1812 in the United States of America. The bank offers several strategic advisory services like cash management, foreign exchange, loans, financial restructuring, mergers and acquisitions.

Canara Bank:

Canara Bank came into existence in the year 1906 and the bank holds an unmatched reputation in southern part of India. Some of the important services offered by the bank are SME Credit, NRI Banking, corporate banking and personal banking. The bank offers different types of loans like:

• Loan against approves mutual funds/debentures/shares

• Loan against security of mortgage of property

• Loan for pensioners

• Loan for personal need of non-teaching/teaching staff

• Loan for personal needs

• Housing loan

In addition to the above-mentioned banks, several other banks are also functioning in India thereby offering a wide range of employment opportunities. Without banking business and trading activities cannot be carried out and so this can be explained as a life-blood for the development of the economy.