RBI survey sees Indian banks' overseas presence growing steadily
This story was originally published at 17:30 IST on 26 September 2025
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MUMBAI – Indian banks' overseas presence increased steadily while foreign banks operating in India expanded faster in the financial year 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) than in FY24, the Reserve Bank of India's survey on international trade in banking service showed Friday. All comparisons were carried out in dollar terms. The survey included 13 overseas branches and joint ventures of Indian banks and 44 foreign banks.
Indian banks have increased their overseas presence by 1.9% through joint ventures and subsidiaries. The employee strength recorded a growth of 3.4%, combining banks' branches and their subsidiaries.
The consolidated balance sheet of foreign banks registered higher growth in comparison to Indian banks' branches and subsidiaries overseas. Indian banks registered growth of 9.1% in overseas branches and 4.2% in overseas subsidiaries, whereas foreign banks in India grew a robust 17.5%.
During the survey period, lending activity of foreign banks grew more than that of their Indian counterparts overseas. However, the rate of increase in deposits recorded by foreign banks operating in India declined to 6.8% from 16.4% a year ago. The rise in lending activity was at 8.4%, only marginally above the previous year's number.
Growth in interest income and expenses slowed for both foreign banks and Indian banks' overseas branches and subsidiaries because of a high base effect. However, the fall in growth was more pronounced for the Indian overseas branches. "The shift in the monetary policy cycle in most major economies, coupled with the high base of the previous year, led to a substantial moderation in the growth of interest income and expenses across all three cohorts during the year," the survey said. Interest income and expenses of overseas branches of Indian banks grew only 8% and 9%, respectively, compared to 72% and 87.5% the previous year.
The total income-to-asset ratio declined for overseas branches of Indian banks whereas it showed marginal increase for the overseas Indian subsidiaries. Foreign banks operating in India also recorded a fall in the ratio.
The fee income of foreign banks operating in India increased more than that of Indian entities overseas. Indian banks' branches in Hong Kong recorded the highest increase in fee income while branches in the UK recorded a sharp fall. During FY25, the fee income of foreign banks in India increased 9.4% while that of overseas branches of Indian banks grew only 4.3%. End
US$1 = INR 88.71
Reported by Janwee Prajapati
Edited by Rajeev Pai
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