Several foreign banks, including the Bank of China, have sought RBI’s permission to set up operations in the country.
Among those who have applied for permission to open a branch or office in the country are three banks from Iran, two from South Korea, one each from Malaysia and Netherlands.
Bank of China is one of the four major state-owned banks in China, and is considered the second biggest in the country by assets. It does not have any branches in India yet, despite many of its corporate clients having extensive operations in India.
Among the Iranian banks that have sought nods from the RBI are Bank Pasargad, Parsian Bank and Saman Bank.
India is a big importer of Iranian crude oil, and has been an ‘all weather’ friend for the country even in the face of sanctions. The two also share interests in combating Islamist terrorism, especially that funded by shared neighbor Pakistan.
The two Korean banks that have sought to open their first branches are Kookmin Bank and Nonghyup Bank.
Maybank of Malaysia, whose application for opening a branch in India was rejected, has put in a re-application, while ING Bank of Netherlands has sought to set up a representative office here.