Banking in India

I n chapter 2 I described the historical and institutional developments of banking in China. In this chapter I will outline some of the key institutional features of India’s banking system. Although the focus will be upon modern banking institutions, it is important to recognize that the development of India’s modern banking system emerged during the period of British colonization. Building upon the existing network of indigenous banking houses, more formalized banking transactions took place under the direction of British agency houses. These agency houses undertook limited banking activities in conjunction with their trading activities. The primary client of the agency houses were the three presidencies (in Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay), which deposited surplus cash. Eventually the three presidencies established their own banks, the first one being the Government Bank of Bombay in 1720. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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