Indian Banking Sector

Much has been said about over-lending and defaults. Here's how lending works for the bottom-of-the-pyramid

Indian Bank plans to add about 100 branches this year, with a primary focus on increasing the bank's presence in the Central and Western parts of the country. To manage growing business and replace retiring employees, the bank would increase its headcount by about 2,500 personnel, including specialist officers. "Last year we opened 100 branches. This year too we have similar plans. Just on August 15, which was our foundation day, the bank inaugurated 15 branches across the country," Indian Bank MD and CEO Binod Kumar told PTI in an interaction. The bank had 6,003 domestic branches and three overseas -- Singapore, Colombo and Jaffna and IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) at Gandhinagar as of June 30, 2026. The seventh-biggest public sector bank enhanced its presence in the eastern region and Uttar Pradesh with the amalgamation of Allahabad Bank in 2020. "Now we are trying to increase our presence in the Central and Western parts of the country," he said. On the recruitment side, Kumar said,

The CEO search comes after about six months of upheaval at HDFC Bank where leadership issues have weighed on its shares

Earlier in the month, BoB ​had raised $400 million through three-year bonds at a 5.1140% ‌coupon and $300 million through five-year notes at a 5.3180% ​coupon

The slowdown in NFOs is more to do with the product suite being complete rather than concerns on the market's trajectory, Setalvad said.

Public sector lender Indian Bank expects its gold loan book to cross Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the current financial year, supported by robust demand for the product. "Gold loan is safe lending for banks...it is not a consumption loan, but mostly it is income-generating and also helps small businesses to grow. Last year, we saw very significant growth of 30 per cent in the segment due to a jump in gold prices. It will be slower this year as there is a 30 per cent decline in gold prices," Indian Bank MD and CEO Binod Kumar told PTI in an interaction. This growth would come from tonnage, he said, adding that the gold loan segment is likely to grow about 20 per cent. Currently, the gold loan portfolio is around Rs 1.25 lakh crore, and the book should exceed Rs 1.5 lakh crore during this financial year at the anticipated growth rate, he said. Kumar further said that RAM (Retail, Agriculture, and MSME) constitutes 65 per cent of the overall loan book while the remaining 35 per cent is from .

The offerings reached $8 billion Thursday, breaching the previous record of $7.92 billion hit in 2019, according to data

The bank plans to sell a benchmark-sized three-year US currency note and is holding calls with fixed-income investors starting Monday

Deliberations at PSB Confluence to act as template for panel

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government would soon constitute a high-level panel on 'Banking for Viksit Bharat'. In this year's Budget, the Finance Minister had proposed a high-level committee on 'Banking for Viksit Bharat', to comprehensively review the sector and align it with India's next phase of growth. Addressing the two-day PSB Confluence here, Sitharaman said, "We expect the announcement of the high-powered committee to look into the banking sector... soon the committee will be announced." She said the committee would give its thoughts and recommendations to the government. "I propose setting up a 'High Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat' to comprehensively review the sector and align it with India's next phase of growth, while safeguarding financial stability, inclusion and consumer protection," she had said in the Budget speech on February 1, 2026.

To cash in on the RBI's concessional swap window, Indian Bank plans to raise USD 400 million through External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) this week to support its business growth. In addition, the public sector lender may mop up another USD 600 million via ECB before the Reserve Bank of India's deadline of December 31, 2026. "The bank is considering raising USD 400 million via the ECB route as early as this week...the overseas fund raise would come at a very competitive rate," Indian Bank MD and CEO Binod Kumar told PTI in an interview. Post August, he said, the bank would consider garnering another USD 600 million as the RBI window is available till the end of the calendar year. Overall, the bank is planning to garner USD 1 billion from the ECB and about USD 2 billion via Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) or FCNR (B) deposits, he said. "Indian Bank has already raised USD 1.5 billion from FCNR(B) deposits...we have seen good demand from NRIs. They are willing to put their money

The RBI has been issuing directions to bank boards on matters to be taken up at board meetings

Malhotra, however, warned that wider AI use entails risks including biased or opaque decisions, along with data privacy and cybersecurity threats

Behind the forensics and policy responses lies a question that India's banking industry is asking itself today: How to deal with insider bank frauds

The country's largest lender received 89 bids and retained Rs 4,691 crore from the perpetual bond issue, marking the first AT-I issuance by a bank in FY27

According to the Finance Ministry, private sector banks accounted for nearly 70 per cent of the total minimum balance charges collected in FY26

Currently, only State Bank of India, the country's biggest lender, and private-sector leader HDFC Bank Ltd. rank in the top 100 global sector list by total assets

There are two key issues behind this phenomenon. The RBI and the government can solve this in a jiffy

The bank's total staff fell to 211,178 as of March 31 from a year earlier with new hiring dropping by 3,811, according to its annual report released on Saturday

In its FY26 annual report, HDFC Bank's leadership defended the lender's governance standards after former chairman Atanu Chakraborty's resignation triggered questions over board oversight