India's Best Banks

Bank of the Year/ Digital Bank: HDFC BANK
"Our more than 55 per cent branches are in rural and semi-urban geographies," says MD and CEO  Aditya Puri, using this to make a point that HDFC Bank's balance sheet is reflective of the country's economy.

Best Financial Inclusion Initiative: SBI
India's largest bank has been actively covering inaccessible villages through its banking correspondents or BCs. BC is a representative authorised to offer services such as cash transactions in areas where the bank does not have a branch.

Most Innovative Bank: ICICI Bank
Chanda Kochhar has created a strong foundation for the future growth of ICICI Bank. She took over as the MD & CEO in 2009 and has subsequently focused on improving the operating parameters of the bank. It seems she has achieved her goals.

Kaizad Bharucha, Executive Director at HDFC Bank

Large Foreign Banks (Quality of assets) JP Morgan India
"In lending, we look for track record, inherently the intent to pay, coupled with cash flows rather than relying only on the value of security in assets," says Kalpana Morparia, CEO, JP Morgan India.

Best Foreign Bank in the mid-sized category: Credit Suisse AG, India
Mihir Doshi, Country Head, Credit Suisse AG  says "We can expand, but I don't think it is needed at the moment. Since the commencement of our bank in 2011, we have been adopting the strategy of growing cautiously. Where there has been an opportunity, we managed to leverage our regional strengths across investment and private banking to grow our business and margins."

Productivity & Efficiency Winner/Small Banks: City Union Bank
City Union Bank, the South India-based old private sector bank, has taken a number of initiatives to digitise operations. These are now paying rich dividends. As part of the plan, it has installed about 300 bulk note acceptors, expanded the ATM network, upgraded internet banking and introduced mobile banking. "Our first agenda is to increase the use of alternative banking channels. Our initiatives are already yielding good results," says N. Kamakodi, Managing Director and CEO, City Union Bank.

"There is nothing like competition to keep you on your toes," says Paresh Sukthankar, Deputy MD, HDFC Bank.

Pralay Mondal, Senior Group President, YES Bank.

Apart from being cheap, the model creates employment for BCs, who receive commission from the bank for each and every service that they offer," says Rajnish Kumar, Managing Director (National Banking Group), SBI.

Most Improved Bank: YES Bank
YES Bank MD and CEO Rana Kapoor is quite sanguine about the future as he plans to increase the retail banking pie one step at a time.

Large Foreign Banks (Growth): Deutsche Bank
Ravneet Gill, the CEO of Deutsche Bank India and the man who delivered the outstanding performance, attributes it to a multi-pronged strategy - focusing on the right client segment and product suite, risk management and cost discipline.

Most Future-ready Bank: Kotak Mahindra Bank
"We are right now going through the pangs of integration. I think the biggest challenge lies in IT and people integration," admits Uday Kotak, Executive Vice Chairman and MD of the bank. The ING merger has contributed significantly to its SME, crop loan, foreign exchange and MNC client portfolio

Small banks/ Growth/ Quality of assets: RBL Bank
Vishwavir Ahuja, the Managing Director and CEO of Kolhapur-based RBL Bank, has big plans for the next few months. The 55-year-old would roll out Vision 2020 for accelerating growth. He is also getting the bank ready for its initial public offering, or IPO, this year.The bank is looking to grow 10 per cent above the industry average.

Productivity & Efficiency Winner/ Mid-Sized Banks: United Bank of India 
"We are monitoring the situation in such a way to ensure that slippages come down," says P. Srinivas, MD and CEO, UBI on NPAs. NPAs have already come down to 8.9 per cent in September 2015 from 10.78 per cent in September 2014.