Short Term Liquidity of Foreign Banks in India

Abstract

Foreign banks have been associated with India for almost two centuries now. Yet, there presence has been prominently felt after the recommendations of the Narasimham Committee on financial sector reforms ushered a competitive era that triggered the entry of new private and foreign banks into the country. Foreign banks have always adapted well to the changing financial landscape in India. They have been offering products and services that suit the Indian way of living and enterprise, providing cross-border borrowings, capital and access to global markets. Foreign banks have made considerable contribution to the banking sector over time by bringing capital, technology, efficiency and best global practices to India. The present study examines the foreign banks in India for their liquidity management capacity and liquidity performance over the post financial crisis period. The liquidity of selected Indian foreign banks has been evaluated on the basis of their short-term liquidity ratios. The foreign banks fail to meet the preferred requirements of short-term liquidity parameter for the banking sector. Nonetheless, in relative terms, Citibank shows much better liquidity management in the short-term as compared to HSBC and Standard Chartered banks.