Types of Banks and How To Choose the Best Bank for You

In India, the banking sector plays a crucial role in economic development. Banks are like hubs where people save, borrow, and manage their money. There are several types of banks in India, each with its unique characteristics and functions.

Type of Banks: Different Types of Banks in India

Banks are intermediaries between individuals and entities with excess funds and those in need of funds. Let’s dive into the various types of banks and their respective functions.

Structure of Banks in India

Banks are divided into four categories:

1. Commercial Banks

• Public Sector
• Private Sector
• Foreign Banks
• Regional Rural Banks

2. Cooperative Banks

• Urban cooperative
• State cooperative

3. Small Finance Banks

4. Payments Banks

These were the major bank types, but before we know more about the different types of banks in India, first let us know about the Central bank.

Commercial Banks

Commercial banks are for-profit financial institutions that accept deposits and provide loans to individuals and businesses. They are the oldest institutions in banking history and have a huge network of branches spread all over the country. Their services include savings accounts, loans, and payment processing.

Commercial banks run in both government and private sectors.

Types of Commercial Banks:

• Public Sector
• Private Sector
• Foreign Banks
• Regional Rural Banks

Let us know about these banks in detail:

Public Sector Banks

In public sector banks, the major stake is of government. These banks have around 75% of the total banking business nationwide. They are also called the nationalized banks.

List of Public Sector Banks:

List of PSU Banks	Branches	Number of ATMs	Headquarter
State Bank of India (SBI)	24000	58559	Mumbai
Punjab National Bank (With Merger of Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India)	11437	8985	New Delhi
Bank of Baroda (With Merger of Dena Bank & Vijaya Bank)	8581	10318	Vadodara
Canara Bank (With Merger of Syndicate Bank)	10391	12829	Bengaluru
Union Bank of India (With Merger of Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank)	9500	13300	Mumbai
Bank of India	5825	5000	Mumbai
Indian Bank (With Merger of Allahabad Bank)	6000+	6104	Chennai
Central Bank of India	2876	4666	Mumbai
Indian Overseas Bank	2995	3400	Chennai
UCO Bank	2377	4000	Kolkata
Bank of Maharashtra	1860	1897	Pune
Punjab & Sindh Bank	1045	1554	New Delhi

Nationalized Banks

After independence, some privately owned banks continued to provide financial services. However, the government nationalized 14 banks in 1969, bringing most banking control into government hands.

List of the Nationalized Banks are:

• Allahabad Bank
• Andhra Bank
• Dena Bank
• Oriental Bank Of Commerce
• Syndicate Bank
• United Bank Of India
• Vijaya Bank
• IDBI Bank

In these banks, the maximum ownership is with private shareholders instead of the government.

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Private Sector Banks

There are many banks in India that are not under the government, however these banks are regulated by the RBI to ensure smooth operations. By 2009, in total, there were 7 private sector banks and 15 old private sector banks.

List of Private Sector Banks:

No	Name of the Bank	Branches	Establishment	Headquarter
1	Axis Bank	4528	1993	Mumbai, Maharashtra
2	Bandhan Bank	670+	2015	Kolkata, West Bengal
3	CSB Bank	417	1920	Thrissur, Kerala
4	City Union Bank	700+	1904	Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu
5	DCB Bank	334	1930	Mumbai, Maharashtra
6	Dhanlaxmi Bank	270+	1927	Thrissur city, Kerala
7	Federal Bank	1284	1931	Aluva, Kochi
8	HDFC Bank	5430	1994	Mumbai, Maharashtra
9	ICICI Bank	5288	1994	Mumbai, Maharashtra
10	IDBI Bank	1892	1964	Mumbai, Maharashtra
11	IDFC FIRST Bank	260	2015	Mumbai, Maharashtra
12	IndusInd Bank	2000	1994	Pune, Maharashtra
13	J&K Bank	1038	1938	Srinagar, Jammu, and Kashmir
14	Karnataka Bank	857	1924	Mangaluru, Karnataka
15	Karur Vysya Bank	779	1916	Karur, Tamil Nadu
16	Kotak Mahindra Bank	1500+	2003	Mumbai, Maharashtra
17	Nainital Bank	150	1922	Nainital, Uttarakhand
18	RBL Bank	398	1943	Mumbai, Maharashtra
19	South Indian Bank	876	1929	Thrissur, Kerala
20	Tamilnad Mercantile Bank	509	1921	Tuticorin, Tamilnadu
21	YES Bank	1000+	2004	Mumbai, Maharashtra

Foreign Banks

These are the banks branches in India but have head offices in a foreign country. The major use of foreign banks is in the corporate sector. It is a mandate for foreign banks to imply with all the banking regulations by RBI.

List of Foreign Banks:

There are 45 International banks in India with over 300 branches in the major cities. Here is the list for you:

No	Foreign Sector Bank	Bank Website
1	AB Bank Limited	abbl.com
2	Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Ltd.	adcbindia.com
3	American Express Banking Corp. (AEBC)	americanexpress.com/india/homepage.shtml
4	ANZ Banking Group Ltd.	anz.com
5	Bank of America NA.	bankofamerica.com
6	Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait BSC	bbkonline.com
7	Barclays Bank Plc	barcap.com
8	BNP PARIBAS	bnpparibas.com
9	Citibank NA.	Citibank.co.in
10	Cooperatieve Rabobank U.A	rabobank.com/india
11	Credit Agricole Corporate And Investment Bank	ca-cib.com
12	Credit Suisse AG	credit-sussie.com/in /on/investment-banking
13	CTBC Bank Co Ltd	NA
14	DBS Bank India Ltd	dbs.com
15	Deutsche Bank AG	db.com
16	Doha Bank	Doha bank.co.in
17	Emirates NBD Bank (PJSC)	emiratesnbd.co.in
18	First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC	bankfab.com/en-in
19	FirstRand Bank Ltd	firstrand.co.za
20	Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC)	icbcindia.com
21	Industrial Bank Of Korea	NA
22	J P Morgan Chase Bank, NA.	jpmorgan.com
23	JSC VTB Bank	vtb.com
24	KEB Hana Bank	NA
25	Kookmin Bank	kbstar.com
26	Krung Thai Bank Public Company LTD	ktb.co.th/th/content/others/foreign-location-detail
27	Mashreqbank psc	mashreqbank.com
28	Mizuho Bank Ltd.	mizuhocbk.co.jp/english
29	MUFG Bank Ltd	mufg.jp/english
30	National Australia Bank (NAB)	nationalaustraliabank.comnabindia/en/home
31	PT Bank Maybank Indonesia TbK	NA
32	Qatar National Bank Q P S C.	qnb.com
33	Sberbank	NA
34	SBM Bank (India) Ltd.	subgroup.mu
35	Shinhan Bank	shbiz8008@shinhan.com
36	Societe Generale	societegenerale.in
37	Sonali Bank Ltd.	sbl.in
38	Standard Chartered Bank	standardchartered.com
39	Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation	NA
40	The Bank of Nova Scotia	scotiabank.com
41	The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.	HSBC.co.in
42	The Royal Bank of Scotland N V	rbs.in
43	United Overseas Bank Limited	uobgroup.com
44	Westpac Banking Corporation	NA
45	Woori Bank	wooribank.com

Regional Rural Banks

These banks are operating in the various states of the country. Regional Rural Banks are controlled both by the State and Central government and a sponsoring public sector commercial bank.

There are 43 RBIs in the country; let us see the list of the banks along with their sponsored banks.

List of Regional Rural Banks:

No.	Name of Regional Rural Bank	Sponsor Bank	State
1	Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank	State Bank of India	Telangana
2	Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank	Syndicate Bank	Andhra Pradesh
3	Arunachal Pradesh Rural Bank	State Bank of India	Arunachal Pradesh
4	Aryavart Bank	Bank of India	Uttar Pradesh
5	Assam Gramin Vikash Bank	United Bank of India	Assam
6	Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank	United Bank of India	West Bengal
7	Baroda Gujarat Gramin Bank	Bank of Baroda	Gujarat
8	Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin Bank	Bank of Baroda	Rajasthan
9	Baroda UP Bank	Bank of Baroda	Uttar Pradesh
10	Chaitanya Godavari Grameena Bank	Andhra Bank	Andhra Pradesh
11	Chhattisgarh Rajya Gramin Bank	State Bank of India	Chhattisgarh
12	Dakshin Bihar Gramin Bank	Punjab National Bank	Bihar
13	Ellaquai Dehati Bank	State Bank of India	Jammu & Kashmir
14	Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank	Punjab National Bank	Himachal Pradesh
15	J&K Grameen Bank	J&K Bank Ltd.	Jammu & Kashmir
16	Jharkhand Rajya Gramin Bank	State Bank of India	Jharkhand
17	Karnataka Gramin Bank	Canara Bank	Karnataka
18	Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank	Syndicate Bank	Karnataka
19	Kerala Gramin Bank	Canara Bank	Kerala
20	Madhya Pradesh Gramin Bank	Bank of India	Madhya Pradesh
21	Madhyanchal Gramin Bank	State Bank of India	Madhya Pradesh
22	Maharashtra Gramin Bank	Bank of Maharashtra	Maharashtra
23	Manipur Rural Bank	United Bank of India	Manipur
24	Meghalaya Rural Bank	State Bank of India	Meghalaya
25	Mizoram Rural Bank	State Bank of India	Mizoram
26	Nagaland Rural Bank	State Bank of India	Nagaland
27	Odisha Gramya Bank	Indian Overseas Bank	Odisha
28	Paschim Banga Gramin Bank	UCO Bank	West Bengal
29	Prathama UP Gramin Bank	Punjab National Bank	Uttar Pradesh
30	Puduvai Bharthiar Grama Bank	Indian Bank	Puducherry
31	Punjab Gramin Bank	Punjab National Bank	Punjab
32	Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank	State Bank of India	Rajasthan
33	Saptagiri Grameena Bank	Indian Bank	Andhra Pradesh
34	Sarva Haryana Gramin Bank	Punjab National Bank	Haryana
35	Saurashtra Gramin Bank	State Bank of India	Gujarat
36	Tamil Nadu Grama Bank	Indian Bank	Tamil Nadu
37	Telangana Grameena Bank	State Bank of India	Telangana
38	Tripura Gramin Bank	United Bank of India	Tripura
39	Utkal Grameen Bank	State Bank of India	Odisha
40	Uttar Banga Kshetriya Gramin Bank	Central Bank of India	West Bengal
41	Uttar Bihar Gramin Bank	Central Bank of India	Bihar
42	Uttarakhand Gramin Bank	State Bank of India	Uttarakhand
43	Vidharbha Konkan Gramin Bank	Bank of India	Maharashtra

Cooperative Banks

Cooperative banks are formed under state government regulations and their primary function is to provide short-term loans to the agricultural sector. Also known as savings bank accounts, these banks are established to provide loans to their members at low interest rates.

State Co-operative Banks

These are state-level cooperative banks, funded by NABARD, the government, and the RBI. These banks are owned by the government, while a group of members manages the bank.

List of State Co-operative banks

• Kerala State Co-operative Bank Limited
• The Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank Limited
• Mizoram Co-operative Apex Bank
• Tamil Nadu State Apex Co-operative Bank
• West Bengal State Co-operative Bank
• The Delhi State Co-operative Bank Ltd
• Manipur State Co-operative Bank Ltd
• The Gujarat State Co-operative Bank Ltd
• Rajasthan State Co-operative Bank Ltd

Central Co-operative Banks

Central Co-operative Banks (CCBs) are cooperative financial institutions that operate at the district level. These banks are given loans at a very concessional interest rate which would always be 1%-2% less than the standard bank rate.

List of Urban Co-operative banks

• Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank Ltd
• Ahmedabad Mercantile Co-Op Bank Limited
• Amanath Co-operative Bank Limited
• Andhra Pradesh Mahesh Co-Op Urban Bank Limited
• Apna Sahakari Bank Limited
• Bassein Catholic Co-operative Bank Limited
• Bharat Co-operative Bank (Mumbai) Limited
• Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited
• Citizen Credit Co-operative Bank Limited
• Cosmos Bank
• Dombivli Nagari Sahakari Bank Ltd.
• Fingrowth Co-operative Bank Limited
• Goa Urban Co-operative Bank Limited
• Gopinath Patil Parsik Janata Sahakari Bank Limited
• Greater Bombay Co-operative Bank Limited
• GS Mahanagar Co-operative Bank Limited
• Indian Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited
• Jalgaon Janata Sahakari Bank Limited
• Jalgaon People’s Co-operative Bank Limited
• Janakalyan Sahakari Bank Limited
• Janalaxmi Co-operative Bank Limited
• Janata Sahakari Bank Limited
• Kallappanna Awade Ichalkaranji Janata Sahakari Bank Limited
• Kalupur Commercial Co-op Bank Limited
• Kalyan Janata Sahakari Bank Limited
• Karad Urban Co-operative Bank Limited
• Mapusa Urban Co-operative Bank of Goa Limited
• Nagar Urban Co-operative Bank Limited
• Nagpur Nagrik Sahakari Bank Limited
• Nasik Merchant’s Co-operative Bank Limited
• New India Co-operative Bank Limited
• NKGSB Co-operative Bank Limited
• Nutan Nagarik Sahakari Bank Limited
• Osmanabad Janata Sahakari Bank Limited
• Pravara Sahakari Bank Limited
• Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank
• Rajarambapu Sahakari Bank Limited
• Rajkot Nagrik Sahakari Bank Limited
• Rupee Co-operative Bank Limited
• Sangli Urban Co-operative Bank Limited
• Saraswat Bank
• Sardar Bhiladwala Pardi People’s Co-op. Bank Limited
• Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank
• Shikshak Sahakari Bank Limited
• Solapur Janata Sahakari Bank Limited
• Surat Peoples Coop Bank Limited
• Thane Bharat Sahakari Bank Limited
• The Akola Janata Commercial Co-operative Bank Limited
• The Akola Urban Co-operative Bank Limited
• The Jaynagar Majilpur People’s Co-Operative Bank Limited
• The Khamgaon Urban Co-operative Bank Limited
• The Mehsana Urban Co-Op Bank Limited
• TJSB Sahakari Bank
• Vasai Vikas Sahakari Bank Limited
• Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank Limited

Small Finance Banks

Small Finance Banks (SFBs) are specialized banks in India licensed by the Reserve Bank of India. These banks cater to the financial needs of those segments that are overlooked by other major banks.

Small Finance Banks primarily serve small industries, farmers, the unorganized sector, and others. They offer core banking services like savings accounts and fixed deposits.

List of small finance banks in the country:

• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
• 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

Payments Banks

A payments bank is a type of bank licensed by the Reserve Bank of India to provide basic banking services. They do not offer the facility of bank loans or credit cards as of now.

List of the Payments banks are:

Bank Name	Established	Headquarters	Branches	Revenues
Airtel Payments Bank	2017	New Delhi, Delhi		₹474 crores (FY2020)
India Post Payments Bank	2018	New Delhi, Delhi	650 Branches	₹48 crores (FY2019)
Paytm Payments Bank	2017	Noida, Uttar Pradesh		₹29.8 crores (FY2020)
Jio Payments Bank	2018	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Fino Payments Bank	2017	Mumbai, Maharashtra	410 Branches	₹689 crores (FY2020)

This article increases awareness of the types of banks in India. We’ ve explore different types of banks in india. So, choose wisely and invest in the bank where you think you can reap maximum benefits.

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