Banks are financial institutions that perform deposit and
lending functions. There are various types of banks in India and each is
responsible to perform different functions.
The bank takes deposit at a much lower rate from the public
called the deposit rate and lends money at a much higher rate called the
lending rate.
Banks can be classified into various types. Given below are
the bank types in India:-
- Central Bank
- Cooperative Banks
- Commercial Banks
- Regional Rural Banks (RRB)
- Local Area Banks (LAB)
- Specialized Banks
- Small Finance Banks
- Payments Banks
Functions
of Banks
The major functions of banks are almost the same but the set
of people each sector or type deals with may differ. Given below the functions
of the banks in India:
- Acceptance of deposits from the public
- Provide demand withdrawal facility
- Lending facility
- Transfer of funds
- Issue of drafts
- Provide customers with locker facilities
- Dealing with foreign exchange
Apart from the above-mentioned list, various utility
functions also need to be performed by the various banks.
Central
Bank
The Reserve Bank of India is the central
bank of our country. Each country has a central bank that regulates all the other
banks in that particular country.
The main function of the central bank is to act as the
Government’s Bank and guide and regulate the other banking institutions in the
country. Given below are the functions of the central bank of a country:
- Guiding other banks
- Issuing currency
- Implementing the monetary policies
- Supervisor of the financial system
In other words, the central bank of the country may also be
known as the banker’s bank as it provides assistance to the other banks of the
country and manages the financial system of the country, under the supervision
of the Government.
Cooperative
Banks
These banks are organised under the state government’s act.
They give short term loans to the agriculture sector and other allied
activities. The main goal of Cooperative Banks is to promote social welfare by
providing concessional loans.
They are organised in the 3 tier structure
- Tier 1 (State Level) – State Cooperative Banks
(regulated by RBI, State Govt, NABARD)
- Funded by RBI, government, NABARD. Money is then
distributed to the public
- Concessional CRR, SLR applies to these banks. (CRR-
3%, SLR- 25%)
- Owned by the state government and top management is
elected by members
- Tier 2 (District Level) – Central/District Cooperative
Banks
- Tier 3 (Village Level) – Primary Agriculture
Cooperative Banks
Commercial
Banks
- Organised under the Banking Companies Act, 1956
- They operate on a commercial basis and its main
objective is profit.
- They have a unified structure and are owned by the
government, state, or any private entity.
- They tend to all sectors ranging from rural to urban
- These banks do not charge concessional interest rates
unless instructed by the RBI
- Public deposits are the main source of funds for these
banks
The commercial banks can be further divided into three
categories:
- Public sector Banks –
A bank where the majority stakes are owned by the Government or the
central bank of the country.
- Private sector Banks –
A bank where the majority stakes are owned by a private organization or an
individual or a group of people
- Foreign Banks –
The banks with their headquarters in foreign countries and branches in our
country, fall under this type of bank
Given below is the list of commercial banks in our country:
1.
Public
Sector Banks : State Bank of India, Allahabad Bank,
Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central
Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Oriental
Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Syndicate Bank,
Union Bank of India, United Bank of India, UCO Bank, Vijaya Bank, IDBI Bank
Ltd.
2.
Private
Sector Banks : Catholic Syrian Bank, City Union
Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Federal Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Karnataka Bank, Karur
Vysya Bank, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Nainital Bank, Ratnakar Bank, South Indian Bank,
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Axis Bank, Development Credit, Bank (DCB Bank Ltd), HDFC
Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC, Bandhan
Bank of Bandhan Financial Services.
3.
Foreign
Banks : Australia and New Zealand Banking
Group Ltd., National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation, Bank of
Bahrain & Kuwait BSC, AB Bank Ltd., HSBC, CITI Bank, Deutsche Bank, DBS
Bank Ltd., United Overseas Bank Ltd, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, Standard Chartered
Bank, etc. There are over 40 Foreign Banks in India
Regional
Rural Banks (RRB)
- These are special types of commercial Banks that
provide concessional credit to agriculture and rural sector.
- RRBs were established in 1975 and are registered under
a Regional Rural Bank Act, 1976.
- RRBs are joint ventures between the Central government
(50%), State government (15%), and a Commercial Bank (35%).
- 196 RRBs have been established from 1987 to 2005.
- From 2005 onwards government started merger of RRBs
thus reducing the number of RRBs to 82
- One RRB cannot open its branches in more than 3
geographically connected districts.
Local
Area Banks (LAB)
- Introduced in India in the year 1996
- These are organized by the private sector
- Earning profit is the main objective of Local Area
Banks
- Local Area Banks are registered under Companies Act,
1956
- At present, there are only 4 Local Area Banks all which
are located in South India
Specialized
Banks
Certain banks are introduced for specific purposes only.
Such banks are called specialized banks. These include:
- Small
Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) – Loan for a small scale industry or business can be
taken from SIDBI. Financing small industries with modern technology and
equipments is done with the help of this bank
- EXIM
Bank – EXIM Bank stands for
Export and Import Bank. To get loans or other financial assistance
with exporting or importing goods by foreign countries can be done
through this type of bank
- National
Bank for Agricultural & Rural Development (NABARD) – To get any kind of financial assistance for rural,
handicraft, village, and agricultural development, people can turn to
NABARD.
There are various other specialized banks and each possesses
a different role in helping develop the country financially.
Small
Finance Banks
As the name suggests, this type of bank looks after the
micro industries, small farmers, and the unorganized sector of the society by
providing them loans and financial assistance. These banks are governed by the
central bank of the country.
Given below is the list of the Small Finance Banks in our
country:
AU Small Finance Bank, Capital Small Finance Bank, Esaf
Small Finance Bank, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Fincare Small Finance Bank, Utkarsh
Small Finance Bank, Jana Small Finance Bank, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, Northeast
Small Finance Bank, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.
Payments
Banks
A newly introduced form of banking, the payments bank have
been conceptualized by the Reserve Bank of India. People with an account in the
payments bank can only deposit an amount of up to Rs.1,00,000/- and cannot
apply for loans or credit cards under this account.
Options for online banking, mobile banking, the issue of
ATM, and debit card can be done through payments banks. Given below is a list
of the few payments bank in our country:
- Airtel
Payments Bank
- India
Post Payments Bank
- Fino
Payments Bank
- Jio
Payments Bank
- Paytm
Payments Bank
- NSDL
Payments Bank
