An ideal definition of a bank can be given as “A bank is a commercial establishment which deals in debts and aims at earning profits by accepting deposits from general public at large, which is repayable on demand or otherwise through cheques or bank drafts and otherwise which are used for lending to the borrowers or invested in Government securities.”
“Banking means the accepting for the purpose of Indian companies lending or investment, of deposits of money from the public, repayable on demand or otherwise, and withdrawable by cheque, draft or otherwise.”
Banks are of various types and can be classified :
A. On the basis of Reserve Bank Schedule.
B. On the basis of ownership.
C. On the basis of domicile.
D. On the basis of functions.
A. On the basis of Reserve Bank Schedule:
Bank can be of the two types on the basis of Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 : (i) Scheduled Banks and (ii) Non-scheduled Banks.
i) Scheduled Banks : All those banks which are included in the list of Schedule Second of the Reserve Bank of India are called the Scheduled Bank. Only those banks are included in the list of scheduled banks which satisfy the following conditions :
a) That it must have a paid up capital and reserves of Rs.5 lakhs.
b) That it must ensure the Reserve Bank that its operations are not detrimental to the interest of the depositors.
c) That it must be a corporation or a cooperative society and not a single owner firm or a partnership firm.
ii) Non-scheduled Banks : The banks which are not included in the second schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 are called non-scheduled banks. They are not included in the second schedule because they does not fulfill the three pre-conditions laid down in the act to qualify for the induction in the second schedule.
B. On the basis of Ownership :
Banks can be classified on the basis of ownership in the following categories :
(i) Public Sector Banks
(ii) Private Sector Banks and
(iii) Cooperative Banks
i) Public Sector Banks: The banks which are owned or controlled by the Government are called “Public Sector Banks”. In 1955 the first public sector commercial bank was established by passing a special Act of Parliament which is known as State Bank of India. Subsequently the Government took over the majority of shares of other State Banks which were operating at the state levels namely State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Indore, State Bank of Saurashtra and State Bank of Hyderabad presently working as subsidiaries of State Bank of India.
In the field of banking, the expansion of public sector was marked with the nationalization of 14 major commercial banks by Mrs. Indira Gandhi on July 19, 1969 through an ordinance. Again on April 15, 1980 another group of 6 commercial banks were nationalized with the deposits Rs.200 crores each, resulting in the total of 20 such banks. But due to the merger of New Bank of India with the Punjab National Bank in 1993-94, the number of nationalized bank has been reduced to 19. The State Bank of India and its seven subsidiaries had already been nationalized. The progressive nationalization of bank has increased the role of public sector banking in the country.
Under the new liberalization policy of the Government, The Oriental Bank of Commerce, State Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda have offered their share to the general public and financial institutions and therefore these banks are no longer 100% owned by Government of India. Although majority of the shares is still with the Government, therefore these are still public sector banks.
ii) Private Sector Banks: On the contrary Private Sector Banks are those banks which are owned and controlled by the private sector i.e. private individuals and corporations. The private sector played a strategic role in the growth of joint stock banks in India. In 1951 there were in all 566 private sector banks of which 92 banks were scheduled banks and the remaining 474 were non-scheduled banks. At the time there was not even a single public sector bank. With the nationalization of banks in 1969 and 1980 their role in commercial banking had declined considerably. Since then the number of private sector banks is decreasing and the number of public sector banks is increasing.
iii) Co-operative Banks : The word ‘cooperative’ stands for working together. Therefore cooperative banking means an institution which is established on the principle of cooperation dealing in ordinary banking business. Cooperative banks are special type of banks doing ordinary banking business in which the members cooperate with each other for the promotion of their common economic interests.
Features of Cooperative Banking: Following are the distinguishing main features of a cooperative bank :- i) Membership of Cooperative Banks is voluntary. ii) Functions of a Cooperative Bank are common banking functions. iii) Organization and management of a Cooperative Bank is based on democratic principles. iv) Main objectives of a Cooperative bank are to promote economic, social and moral development of its members. v) Basic principle of Cooperative Bank is equality.
C) On the basis of domicile:
The banks can be classified into the following two categories on the basis of domicile :
(i) Domestic Banks and
(ii) Foreign Banks.
i) Domestic Banks: Those banks which are incorporated and registered in the India are called domestic banks.
ii) Foreign Banks: Those banks which are set up in a foreign country with their control and management in the hands of head office in their country of origin but having business branches in India. Foreign Banks are also known as Foreign Exchange Banks or Exchange Banks. Traditionally these banks were set up for financing the foreign trade in India and discounting the foreign exchange bills. But now these banks are also accepting deposits and making advances like other commercial banks in India.
D) On the basis of functions: The banks can be classified on the basis of functions in the following categories :
(i) Commercial Banks
(ii) Industrial Banks
(iii) Agricultural Banks
(iv)Exchange Banks and
(v) Central Bank.
i) Commercial Banks: These are those banks which perform all kinds of banking business and functions like accepting deposits, advancing loans, credit creation, and agency functions for their customers. Since their major portion of the deposits are for the short period, they advance only short term and medium term loans for business, trade and commerce. Majority of the commercial banks are in the public sector. Of late they have started giving long term loans also to compete in the commercial money market.
ii) Industrial Banks: These are those banks which provide medium term and long term finance to the industries for the purchase of land and building, plant and machinery and other industrial equipment. They also underwrite the shares and debentures of the industries and also subscribe to them.
The main functions of an Industrial Banks are as follows:
i) They provide long term finance to the industries to purchase land and buildings, plant and machinery and construction of factory buildings.
ii) They also accept long term deposits.
iii) They underwrite the shares and debentures of the industry and sometimes subscribe to them.
In India there are number of financial institutions which perform the function of an Industrial Bank. Major financial institutions are as under :-
i) Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI)
ii) Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI)
iii) State Industrial Development Corporation such as Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC)
iii) Agriculture Banks : The needs of agricultural credit are different from that of industry, business, trade and commerce. Commercial banks and industrial banks do not deal with agriculture credit financing.
An agriculturist has both type of needs :
i) He requires short term credit to purchase seeds, fertilizers and other inputs and
ii) He also requires long term credit to purchase land, to make permanent improvement on land, to purchase agricultural machinery and equipment such as tractors etc. Agricultural credit is generally provided in India by the Cooperative institutions.
The Cooperative Agricultural Credit Institutions are divided into two categories :- A) Short term agricultural credit institutions and B) Long term agricultural credit institutions
A) Short term agricultural credit institutions: The short term agricultural credit institutions cater to the short term financial needs of the agriculturists which have the following three tier federal structure :-
a) At the Village level : Primary Agricultural Credit Societies
b) At the District level : Central Cooperative Banks
c) At the State level : State Cooperative Banks
B) Long term agricultural credit institutions: The long term agricultural credit is provided by the Land Development Banks which were earlier known as Land Mortgage Banks.
The land development banks provide long term to agriculturists for a period ranging from 5 years to 25 years.
iv) Exchange Banks : The exchange banks are those banks which deal in foreign exchange and specialised in financing the foreign trade. Therefore, they are also called foreign exchange banks. Foreign Exchange Banks are those banks which are set up in a foreign country with their control and management in the hands of head office in their country of origin but having business branches in India.
v) Central Bank: The Central Bank is the apex bank of a country which controls, regulates and supervises the banking, monetary and credit system of the country. The Central Bank is owned and controlled by the Government of the country.
The Reserve Bank of India is the Central Bank in India. The important function of central bank are as follows :-
i) It acts as banker to the Government of the country.
ii) It also acts as agent and financial advisor to the Government of the country.
iii) It has the monopoly to issue currency of the country.
iv) It serves as the lender of the last resort.
v) It acts as the clearing house and keeps cash reserves of commercial banks.
Functions of Commercial Banks:The Commercial Banks perform a variety of functions which can be divided in the following three categories namely
(a) Basic Functions (b) Agency Functions and (c) General Utility Functions
1. Basic Functions: The basic functions of bank are those functions without performing which an institution cannot be called a banking institution at all. That is why these functions are also called primary or acid test function of a bank.
The basic/primary/acid test function of a bank are Accepting Deposits, Advancing of Loans and Credit Creation.
a) Accepting Deposits : The first and the most important function of a bank is to accept deposits from those people who can save and spare for the safe custody with the bankers. It serves two purposes for the customers. On one hand their money is safe with the bank without any fear of theft and on the other hand they also earn interest as per the kind of saving they have made. For this purpose the banks have different kinds of deposit accounts to attract the people which are as Saving Deposit Account, Fixed Deposit Account, Current Deposit Account, Recurring Deposit Account and Home Loan Account.
i) Saving Deposit Account: The Saving Bank Account is the most common bank account being utilized by the general public. The basic purpose of this account is to mobilize the small savings of the general public. Certain restrictions are imposed on the depositors regarding the number of withdrawals and amount to be withdrawn in a given period of time. Generally the rate of interest paid by the bank on these deposits is low as compared to recurring or fixed deposit account. Cheque facility is also provided to the depositors with certain extra restrictions on the depositors.
ii) Fixed Deposit Account: This is an account where money can be deposited for a fixed period of time say one year or two years or three years of five years and so on. Once the money is deposited for a fixed period of time, the depositor is prohibited from withdrawal of money from the bank before the expiry of the stipulated period of time. The basic advantage to be customer is that he is offered interest at the higher rate of interest and the banker is free to utilize the money for that fixed period.
iii) Current Deposit Account: In the savings bank account there are restrictions on the number of withdrawals that can be made. Therefore it does not suit to the needs of traders and businessmen who has to make several payments daily and deposits money in a similar manner. Therefore, there is a facility for them in the shape of another account called Current Deposit Account. Money from this account can be withdrawn by the account holder as many times as desired by the customer. Normally bank does not pay any interest on these current accounts, rather some incidental charges are charged by the banker as service charges. These accounts are also called demand deposits or demand liabilities.
iv) Recurring Deposit Account: To encourage regular savings by the general public, another account is opened in the banks called Recurring Deposit Account. This account is preferred by the fixed income group, because a particular amount fixed at the time of opening the account has to be deposited in the account every month for a stipulated period of time. Generally the bank pays rate of interest higher than that of a saving account and just equal to the fixed deposit account on such recurring deposit accounts.
v) Home Loan Account: Home loan account facility has been introduced in some scheduled commercial banks to encourage savings for the purchasing of or construction of a house to live. In this account the customer is required to deposit a particular amount per month or half yearly or even yearly for a period of five years. After the stipulated period bank provide three to five times of the deposited amount a loan to the subscribers to purchase or construct a house. Rate of interest is also very attractive on this account nearly equal to that of the fixed deposit account. Even the rebate of Income Tax is also available on the amount contributed in this account under Section 88 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Facility to close the account after the stipulated period of time is also allowed.
b) Advancing of Loans: Advancing of loans is the second acid test function of the commercial banks. After keeping certain cash reserves, the banks lend their deposits to the needy borrowers. It is one of the primary functions without which an institution can not be called a bank. The bank lends a certain percentage of the cash lying in the deposits on a higher rate of interest than it pays on such deposits. The longer the period for which the loan is required the higher is the rate of interest. Similarly higher the amount of loan, the higher shall be the rate of interest. Before advancing the loans the bank satisfy themselves about the credit worthiness of the borrowers. This is how a bank earns profits and carries on its banking business.
There are various types of loans which are provided by the banks to the borrowers. Some of the important ways of advancing loans are as
(i) Call Money Advances (ii) Cash Credits (iii) Overdrafts (iv) Discounting Bills of Exchange and (v) Term Loans
i) Call Money Advances: The Call Money Market which is also known as inter-bank call money market deals with very short period loans called call loans. The Call Money Market is a very important constituent of the organized money market which functions as an immediate source of very short term loans. The major suppliers of the funds in the call money market are All Commercial Banks, State Bank of India (SBI), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance Corporation (GIC), Unit Trust of India (UTI) and Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and the major borrowers are the scheduled Commercial Banks. No collateral securities are required against these call money market loans.
As the participants are mostly banks, it is also called inter-bank call money market. The Scheduled Commercial Banks use their surplus funds to lend for very short period to the bill brokers. The bill brokers and dealers in the stock exchanges generally borrow money at call from the commercial banks. The bill brokers in turn use them to discount or purchase the bills. Such funds are borrowed at the call rate which varies with the volume of funds lent by the commercial banks. When the brokers are asked to pay off the loans immediately, then they borrow from SBI, LIC, GIC, and UTI etc. These loans are granted by the commercial banks for a very short period, not exceeding seven days in any case. The borrowers have to repay the loan immediately when ever the lender bank call them back.
ii) Cash Credits: This is a type of loan which is provided to the businessmen against their current assets such as shares, stocks, bonds etc. These loans are not based on credit worthiness or personal security of the customers. The bank provides this loan through opening an account in the name of the customer and allows them to withdraw borrowed amount of loan from time to time upto the limit fixed by the bank which is determined by the value of security provided by the borrowers. Interest is charge only on the amount of money actually withdrawn from the banks and not on the amount of the sanctioned amount of loan.
iii) Overdrafts : The facility of overdrafts is provided to the traders and businessmen through current accounts for which the banks charge interest on the outstanding balance of the customers. A limit is fixed by the bankers for withdrawal of over drafts and the customer is not allowed to withdraw more than that limit from his Over Draft Current Account. This facility is required by the traders and businessmen because they issue several cheques in a day and similarly deposits so many cheques daily in their current accounts. They may not be knowing at a particular day that whether there is a balance in the account or not and their issued cheques are not dishonored so they are provided with the facility of overdrafts.
iv) Discounting Bills of Exchange: This is another popular type of lending by the commercial banks. A holder of a bill of exchange can get it discounted with a commercial bank. Bills of Exchange are also called the Commercial Bills and the market dealing with these bills is also called commercial bill market.
Bills of exchange are those bills which are issued by the businessmen or firms in exchange of goods sold or purchased. The bill of exchange is a written unconditional order signed by the drawer (seller) requiring the drawee (buyer) to pay on demand or at a fixed future date, (usually three months after date written on the bill of exchange), a definite sum of money. After the bill has been drawn by the drawer (seller), it is accepted by the drawee (buyer) by countersigning the bill. Once the buyer puts his acceptance on the bill by signing it, it becomes a legal document. They are like post dated cheques issued by the buyers of goods for the goods received. The bill holder can get this bill discounted in the bill market if he wants the amount of the bill before its actual maturity. These bills of exchange are discounted and re-discounted by the commercial banks for lending credit to the bill brokers or for borrowing from the central bank. The bill of exchange market is not properly developed in India. The Reserve Bank of India introduced the bill market scheme in 1952. Its main aim was to provide finance against bills of exchange for 90 days. The scheduled commercial banks were allowed to convert a part of their advances into promissory notes for 90 days for lodging as collateral security for advances from Reserve Bank of India.
v) Term Loan : Earlier the commercial banks were advancing only short term loans. The commercial banks have also started advancing medium term and long term loans. Now the maturity period of term loans is more than one year. The amount of the loan sanctioned is either paid to the borrower or it is credited to the account of the borrower in the bank. The interest is charged on the whole amount of loan sanctioned irrespective of the amount withdrawn by the borrower from his account. Repayment of the loan is accepted in lump sum or in the installments.
c) Credit Creation : Credit Creation is one of the basic functions of a commercial bank. A bank differ from the other financial institutions because it can create credit. Like other financial institutions the commercial banks also aim at earning profits. For this purpose they accept deposits and advance loans by keeping a small cash in reserve for day-to-day transactions. In the layman’s language when a bank advances a loan, the bank creates credit or deposit. Every bank loan creates an equivalent deposit in the bank. Therefore the credit creation means multiple expansion of bank deposits. The word creation refers to the ability of the bank to expand deposits as a multiple of its reserves. The credit creation refers to the unique power of the banks to multiply loans and advances, the hence deposits. With a little cash in hand, the banks can create additional purchasing power to a considerable extent. It is because of this multiple credit creation power that the commercial banks have been named the “factories of creating credit” or manufacturers of money.
2. Agency Functions : The commercial banks also perform certain agency functions for and on behalf of their customers. The bank acts as the agent of the customer while performing these functions. Such services of the banks are called agency services. Some of the important agency services are as under
i) Remittance of funds: Commercial banks provide a safe remittance of funds of their customers from one place to another through cheques, bank drafts, telephone transfers etc.
ii) Collection and Payment of Credit Instruments : The commercial banks used to collect and pay various negotiable instruments like cheques, bills of exchange, promissory notes, hundis, etc.
iii) Execution of Standing Orders : The commercial banks also execute the standing orders and instruments of their customers for making various periodic payments like subscriptions, rents, insurance premiums and fees on behalf of the customers out of the accounts of their customers.
iv) Purchase and Sale of Securities : The commercial banks also undertake the sale and purchase of securities like shares, stocks, bonds, debentures etc., on behalf of their customers performing the function as a broker agent. v) Collection of dividends on shares and interest on debentures : Commercial banks also make collection of dividends announces by the companies of which the customer of the bank is a shareholder, and also collects the interest on the debentures which becomes due on particular dates generally half yearly or annually.
vi) Trustees and Executors of wills: The commercial banks preserves the wills of their customers as their trustees and execute the wills after the death of the customer as per the will as the executors.
vii) Representation and Correspondence : The commercial banks also act as the representative and correspondents of their customers and get passports, traveler’s tickets, book vehicles and plots for their customers on the directions of the customers.
3. General Utility Functions : In addition to basic functions and agency functions the commercial banks also provide general utility services for their customers which are needed in the various walks of life and the commercial banks provide a helping hand in solving the general problems of the customers, like safety from loss or theft and so many other facilities some them are locker facility, traveler’s cheque facility, gift cheque facility, letter of credit, underwriting contract, provides statistical data, foreign exchange facilities, merchant banking services and acting as referee.
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