The banking sector plays an important role in determining the economy of a country. In a developing country like India, public sector banks are very important.
The banking sector has been there in India for a long time but has seen multiple reforms over the years especially during the post-independence era and the 1969 nationalisation of banks. Currently, there are 12 public sector banks in India.
The list has been ranked based on the assets that each bank currently holds.
Here are the top 10 public sector banks in India:
State Bank of India
State Bank of India Customer Care Number: 1800 425 3800
State Bank of India is the largest bank of India and has the largest market share with around 23%. The origin of State Bank of India goes back to 1955 when the Government of India acquired the then Imperial Bank and renamed it.
The headquarter of the bank is situated at Nariman Point in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It has a total asset of 750 billion dollars. This makes the bank and important factor in the Indian economy.
SBI has been ranked 216th in the 2018 Fortune Global 500 list of biggest corporations in the world.The corporation has 2,57,252 employees.
It generated revenue of 40 billion dollars in 2019. Currently, the government of India has around 61% stake in the bank.
SBI has its presence in 36 other countries where it has set up around 195+ offices. In a survey done in the year 2017, it was found that SBI has around 59,291 ATMs and 26,340 branches.
Punjab National Bank
Punjab National Bank Customer Care Number: 1800 180 2222
During the British era, Indian capital was largely used to run the British banks and companies and while Indians themselves had to scrap a small amount of interest from their own capital while pondering over a solution for that Raj Mool Raj decided to come up with a National bank. So Raj Mool Raj and Lala Lajpat Rai with the help of their friends decided to open a joint Indian stock bank and considered it as the first step for the Swadeshi movement, but they hardly had any knowledge of what to do, so one of their friends “Lala Harikrishna Lal” who knew about commerce and industry help them shape the bank (Sorry not sorry for the History lesson!).
Punjab National Bank was founded on May 19th, 1894 (PNU has its 126th anniversary next month!) And was officially opened for business on 12th April 1895 (basically 125 years ago on this day) with 7 board members. The first generation of bank workers in PNB received a monthly salary of ₹ 320/- (can’t imagine living on that much). Today PNU is one of the largest Public sector banks in India with a total asset of over USD 260 Billion and offers services in nearly every sector.
PNB ranks #717 in Forbes global and #6 among Forbes Indian banks, likewise, it ranks #26 in the Fortune (Indian) 500. PNB has over 7000 branches and 3766 ATMs across India, PNB was awarded as the best Public sector bank in 2012.
As of December ’19, PNB earned a whopping USD 8.3 billion! And this April 1st, United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce merged into Punjab National Bank and became the second-largest public sector bank. Due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak, they haven’t announced the changes for the OBC & UBI yet, the existing customers of PNB needn’t worry as PNB is the anchor for the other two banks and won’t be affected much by the merger, but if you’re an account holder of UBI or OBC, then watch out for the changes.
Bank of Baroda
Bank of Baroda Customer Care Number: 1800 102 4455
Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad founded Bank of Baroda on 20th July 1908 with a few supporters, within 2 years they established their first branch in Ahmedabad and continued to flourish. In 1953, Bank of Baroda was established in Mombasa and Kampala to serve the Indian in Kenya and Uganda. Later on, it spread to Tanzania and London. In July 1969, the Indian government officially Nationalized Bank of Baroda among other 13 major commercial banks.
Today Bank of Baroda has over 9,500 Branches, 13,400 ATMs, 85,000 employees, and serves over 120 million customers globally Till date numerous banks have merged with Bank of Baroda with the firs being in 1958 just a mere 50 years after being founded, other merged banks include:-
- Hind Bank (1958) (the first one).
- New Citizen Bank. (1961).
- Surat Banking Corporation. 1963.
- Umbergaon Peoples’ Banking (1964).
- Tamil Nadu Central Bank (1964).
- Bank of India (in Uganda) (1972).
- Traders Bank (1988).
- Bareilly Corporate Bank (1999).
- Benaras State bank (2002).
- South Gujarat Bank (2004).
- Dena Bank (2019).
- Vijaya Bank (2019).
Last years’ three-way merger of Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank was the first-ever three-way merger within the country and it was what led to further merging between other banks this April 1st. Post-merger Bank of Baroda has become the 3rd biggest lender in the country and has a combined Business of 14.83 Trillion.
Canara Bank
Canara Bank Customer Care Number: 1800 425 0018
Founded in 1906 under the name of Hindu permanent fund but later changed to Canara Bank limited in 1910,Canara bank was founded under the leadership of the philanthropist Shri, Ammembal Subba Rao Pai. When Canara bank (fund) was officially formed, it had the capital of 2000 shares of ₹50/- each and was run by just 4 employees.
Within 70 years, Canara Bank had 1000 branches across the world! Canara bank was the first-ever bank to be bestowed with ISO 9002 certificate, it was also the first bank to open a “Mahila Banking branch” solely for providing the financial requirements of the female clients.
As of April 1st, Syndicate Bank merged with Canara Bank and became the 4th largest public sector bank in India after Bank of Baroda. Ironically, Syndicate Bank ranked 7th in 2019 Forbes global but is the 12th largest bank in India while Canara Bank ranks #30 among the Indian banks in Forbes global, #33 in Fortune Indian 500, and was the 7th largest bank in India (before the merger).
Canara Bank has over 6000 branches and its business has crossed over 9 lakh crores globally. As mentioned earlier, the latest features and changes haven’t been officially announced due to the pandemic.
Union Bank of India
Union Bank of India Customer Care Number: 1800 22 2244
Union Bank is headquartered in Mumbai and was founded in 1919 as a private firm and was inaugurated by none other than Mahatma Gandhi! In Mahatma’s inauguration speech, he’d said that ” Though we don’t have many banks, it’s not like we are completely incapable of appropriately managing crores and crores of rupees.” If he saw Union bank or any other banks today, he might beam with pride. Union bank with its then 240 branches was nationalized (became Public sector) in 1969 started growing even further. Union bank is one of the few banks that hasn’t dropped to loss since its establishment.
Till date many banks have merged with Union Bank of India and helped it grow gigantic, banks that merged with Union Bank of India include:-
- Shri Jadeya Shankarling Bank.
- Belgaum Bank (1975).
- Miraj state bank (1985).
And recently as of April 1st, 2 new banks have merged with Union Bank of India namely;
- Corporation Bank.
- Andra Bank.
Before the merger, Union bank ranked 44th on the Fortune Indian 500 and was the 9th largest Bank in India but after the recent merger, Union bank has become the 5th largest bank in India. Union Bank has a total of 4200 branches in India and a total workforce of 75,000 officers and employees.
Union Bank of India has a total of 210 billion dollars in assets. The bank has around 4300 branches out which a few are situated overseas such as in Hong Kong, Dubai, Sydney, etc. The bank generated Rs. 38,17,80,379 in revenue as of March 2019. As of 2016, the bank had around 35,514 employees.
Bank of India
Bank of India Customer Care Number: 1800 22 0229
Bank of India is another important public sector bank in the country. It is one of the top five banks in India.
It has a total asset of 91 billion dollars and generated 6.7 billion dollars in revenue in 2019. As of 2017, the bank has around 5500 branches with 56 of its offices being abroad. The bank was founded in the year 1906 in Mumbai.
During the 1969 nationalisation of banks, the bank was undertaken by the Government of India. As of 2019, Bank of India has 48,807 employees. There are 54 zonal offices which manage the 5500 branches.
Indian Bank
Indian Bank Customer Care Number: 1800 4250 0000
During the end of 1906 Chennai was hit by the worst financial crisis and 3 of the major British commercial names were the worst hit, one of them crashed, one had to be resurrected by a distress sale, and the third was saved by a benefactor. Arbuthnot & co that collapsed was considered the strongest of the three, during its bankruptcy case, the key figure Mr. V. Krishnaswamy Iyer was the lawyer and had founded Indian Bank to promote the Swadeshi movement and when Arbuthnot collapsed, Indian Bank gained momentum.
Shri V.Krishnaswamy and Mr. Ramasamy Chettiar were the first directors of the Indian Bank and the bank became operational on 15th August 1907 in Chennai. Indian bank gained quite a fame through the 1930s to 1940s but suffered financial issues during the second World war and was forced to shut down many of its branches in India and outside India. But after the war, The Indian bank opened its doors again and got back to work with renewed energy. The Indian Bank was among the 14 top banks that were nationalized on 19th July 1969. The bank has around 21,000 employees.
Indian bank has the ISO27001:2013 standard certification for its Information Systems and Security Processes.
In its long run, Indian bank has merged with many other banks and further strengthened itself, the majority of merging occurred after World war II the first bank that Indian Bank merged with was Rayalaseema Bank and later it merged with Mannargudi Bank, Alagapuri Bank, Salem Bank, Trichy united bank, and a couple of others.
Recently Indian Bank merged with Allahabad bank and became the 7th Largest bank within the country.
Central Bank of India
Central Bank of India Customer Care Number: 1800 22 1911
Up next on the list is Central Bank of India. It is an important Indian bank and is one of the oldest and largest in its category.The bank was originally founded in 1911 in Mumbai.
During the nationalisation in 1969, this bank came under the control of the Indian Government. It is the 8th largest bank in terms of its assets. Central Bank of India has 68 billion dollars in assets.
The bank has 4685 branches and 4886 ATMs as of 2018. It generated a revenue of 370 million dollars in the year 2018.
It was one of the very first banks to issue credit cards. Central Bank of India has 37,162 employees. It is present in all states of Indian and 5 out of 6 Union territories.
Bank of Maharashtra
Bank of Maharashtra Customer Care Number: 1800 233 4526
Bank of Maharashtra is quite famous amongst Maharashtrians and has become one of the major banks in India. This public bank was originally set up to provide financial assistance to common people. Bank of Maharashtra started its operations in 1936, later they got nationalized in 1969. Since then it’s growing rapidly.
The government of India currently holds 87.74% of its shares. They deal with investment management, retail banking, cash management, commercial and personal banking, treasury and NRI services. Among all the public banks, Bank of Maharashtra has the largest number of branches within Maharashtra.
Public banks got a bad rep for being slow, but the Bank of Maharashtra provides rapid feedback even with its technology. They have launched an app “Mahasecure” for digital banking, in order to reach out to more customers. They are serving its millions of customers through the help of more than 1897 branches. According to fortune 500, Bank of Maharashtra got 102nd rank and ranks #21 among other Indian banks.
Also Check: Top 10 Largest & Leading Companies In India (2020)
Top Private Banks in India
Other than 12 public sector banks India has around 22 private sector banks. Their business is as important to the people and the economic stability of the country as the public sector banks. They have been ranked according to their assets.
Here is a list of top 10 private sector banks in India:
HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank is the largest private sector bank in India when it comes to assets and market capitalisation. It has been providing financial and banking services for a period of 25 years. HDFC Bank has its headquarters in Mumbai, India.
It was founded as Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited in 1994. The bank currently has 170 billion dollars in assets. It generated a revenue of 17 billion dollars in 2019.
HDFC Bank is an important bank in the country and holds 60th position in BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands. The bank has its presence in 2764 cities and conducts business through 5130 branches. It is also one of the largest employers employing 1,04,154 people.
ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank Customer Care Number: 1860 120 7777
ICICI Bank is one of the most important private sector banks in India. It was established as Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India in 1994 and has its headquarters in Mumbai, India.
The total current assets of the bank are around 130 billion dollars. It generated a revenue of 11 billion dollars in the year 2019. ICICI bank is known for its variety of banking products and other financial services.
Some of its subsidiaries are skilled in providing specialised services in relation to insurances (both life and non-life), investment banking, asset management, etc.
The bank has a total of 4867 branches and 14367 ATMs as was found in a survey done in 2018. It is also present in 16 countries excluding India. ICICI bank employs around 84,922 people as of 2019.
Axis Bank
Axis Bank Customer Care Number: 1860 419 5555
Axis Bank is another important private sector bank in India. It is the third-largest private sector bank in the country based on assets. The bank has a total of 120 billion dollars in assets.
It generated a revenue of 9.9 billion dollars in 2019. The bank was founded 26 years ago in 1993 and has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The bank was originally named UTI and had conducted business under that name for many years until the name was officially changed to Axis bank in 2007.
Currently, Axis Bank has 4500 branches and has 9 international offices. In addition to this, it has 11,801 ATMs and 4,917 cash recyclers.
As of 2018, the bank had a market capitalisation of 19 billion dollars. Axis Bank currently employs around 61,940 people.
Kotak Mahindra Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank Customer Care Number: 1860 266 2666
Kotak Mahindra Bank is a private sector bank in India providing financial and banking services. The bank started its business in 2003 and has been founded by Uday Kotak. As of 2017, the bank had 31 billion dollars in assets and in 2019 the bank generated revenue of 4.1 billion dollars.
The bank has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Kotak Mahindra Bank is present at more than 700 locations in the country and conducts daily business through approximately 1300 branches and around 2000 ATMs. As of 2017, the bank employed around 33,013 people.
IndusInd Bank Limited
IndusInd Bank Limited Customer Care Number: 1860 500 5004
IndusInd Bank Limited is a private sector bank in India which started operating 25 years ago in 1994. The bank was founded by S. P. Hinduja and inaugurated by Dr Manmohan Singh the then finance minister of the country. As of 2017, the bank has total assets of around 26 billion dollars. It generated 2.7 billion dollars in revenue in 2017.
The IndusInd Bank operates at multiple locations all over the country conducting its business through 1,558 branches and 2453 ATMs as of 2018. The headquarters of the bank is situated in Mumbai and it employs around 26,000 people.
Federal Bank
Federal Bank Customer Care Number: 1800 420 1199
The Federal Bank was founded as Travancore Federal Bank in 1931. It became Federal Bank in 1949. The Bank has its headquarters in Kochi. It is an important private sector bank of India and has 20 billion dollars worth of assets.
In 2018 Federal bank generated a revenue of 1.6 billion dollars. The bank has 1,252 branches, 1,516 ATMs, and 12,295 employees in total. It has its presence in 24 states in the country.
IDBI Bank
IDBI Bank Customer Care Number: 1800 209 4324
IDBI (Industrial development bank of India) is a private sector bank that was formed after the World War and the Great Depression to provide credit and development of the Indian industries and hence many important institutes (Exim Bank, NSE, NSDL & SIDBI) find their roots in IDBI, it was once a subsidiary of RBI but today under the watch of RBI as per the Prompt Corrective Action framework. Even though it is struggling but since the entry of LIC, they are recovering.
IDBI was set up in 1964 and was a subsidiary of RBI and later in 1976 Indian government took control over it. In 2019 LIC came into the picture as it took around 51% (majority) shares of IDBI. Their operations include retail banking, wholesale banking, and treasury services. Other than core banking services they offer venture capital, merchant banking, equity broking, bond trading, and depository services.
According to the 2019 Fortune Indian 500, IDBI ranks #64 and is the 10th Biggest bank within India.
Citi Bank
Citi Bank Customer Care Number: 1860 210 2484
Citibank is one of the most dominant banks globally with millions of clients accounts. It’s been a century since they are serving their customers with a wide variety of financial products and services, including deposits, loans, debit and credit cards, saving accounts, insurance, internet banking, mortgages and much more. Citibank is known for its innovative ideas in fact, Citibank was the first one to introduce credit cards in India in 1990.
They designed their credit cards to cater its customers day to day needs, by providing credit cards that are specifically used for shopping, traveling, fuel, and cash backs. Other than that they offer various benefits with credit cards like insurance, International recognition and much more.
Citibank lures their clients into using their services by providing Thank you rewards(points) which can be used for Cash backs, discounts, gift cards, prizes, etc (Well it’s a win-win situation). One can gain those points simply by being an active user i.e, by using a Citi account to pay for their daily expenses or even by checking their account.
As Citibank’s tagline says “Citi never sleeps” They work tirelessly to provide the best services to their clients. In the Indian banking industry, with 0.55% NPA, Citibank’s balance sheet is considered as one of the best performing banks.
According to Forbes 2019, Citi bank and ING group are the chart-toppers in many countries but sadly according to Fortune Indian 500, Citibank ranks #101.
DBS Bank
DBS Bank Customer Care Number: 1800 209 4555
DBS is a Singapore based bank and is ruling as a digital leader. They have come a long way, from one of the worst to now one of the best and strongest banks with total assets of $518 billion. They are not well known in India but they are expanding their client base aggressively, they went through a digital transformation, by adopting the idea of going invisible. DBS believes banking should make their customer life simple and effortless rather than complex. As no one wants to see banks, just regular notice will be enough.
In 2016 they launched Digibank app, a mobile-centric bank with no branch, which you can take wherever you go. Whether you want to open a savings account, deposit, withdraw, request for a debit card with unlimited withdrawals, activate or deactivate your card, invest in mutual funds or buy loans and insurance, all that can happen in minutes. All you’ll need is a digibank app and your phone.
They made strategies by understanding the client’s requirements and emotions. It’s their goal to Disappear from view, Even though they opened some branches to gain trust and some physical presence. It’s not a surprise that they were awarded as the world’s best digital bank by Euromoney. Other than that they earned the award of Safest bank in Asia continuously for 6 years (2009-2015) by Global finance and managed to bag the #10 spots in Forbes 2019.
Yes Bank
Yes Bank Customer Care Number: 1800 1200
With just over one and a half-decade of existence Yes Bank has been able to establish itself as one of the important private sector banks in India. Currently, it is the 4th largest private sector bank in India based on asset value.
The company was founded in 2004 by Rana Kapoor and Ashok Kapur. Currently, Yes Bank has a total of 44 billion dollars in assets and has generated 3.7 billion dollars in revenue in 2018. It divides itself into three entities handling different parts of the services provided.
The three entities are Yes Bank, Yes Capital, and Yes Asset Management Services. The corporation currently operates through 1,122 branches and 1,220 ATMs. As of 2018, it employed around 18,238 people.
