India has a well developed banking system at par with the best in the world in terms of the service and asset management. The Indian banking system currently consists of commercial banks and co-operative banks. The commercial banks can be broadly classified, on the basis of ownership pattern, into public sector banks, private banks and foreign banks. Currently, there are 28 public sector banks, 29 private banks and 31 foreign banks in India. The combined banking network in India is over 53,000 branches and 17,000 ATMs. The private sector banks have made tremendous growth in the last few years. They have outperformed their public sector counterparts in many areas. The demand for banking services in India, especially retail banking, mortgages and investment services, are expected to be strong in view of the rapid growth of the Indian economy.

The Reserve Bank of India regulates the banking sector. A foreign bank may operate in India through one of the three channels viz., (a) branch/es (b) a wholly owned subsidiary and (c) a subsidiary with aggregate foreign investment upto a maximum of 74% in a private bank. However, it is not permitted to have both branches and subsidiaries. The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 are the important sectoral laws.

CLG Banking Practice

CLG has considerable expertise on wide range of legal and regulatory issues that confront the banking services clients.

• Advised Banks and Financial Institutions on various issues-
  • Anti-money laundering
  • Fair lending
  • Privacy and data security
  • Consumer compliance
  • Regulation of foreign banks
  • Debt recovery and enforcement
• Prepared a comprehensive report for Government of India on a full-fledged International Financial Services Center (IFSC) in India
• Drafted Laws and Rules for Government of India for -
  • Offshore Banking
  • Offshore Securities
  • Offshore Asset Management