With India's economy galloping ahead, boasting an 8.9% growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of this financial year, it is not surprising the country is on the radar of banks across the world. There are 34 foreign banks from 24 countries currently operating in India, along with 45 foreign banks with representative offices. While banks such as Standard Chartered, HSBC and Citi have been present in the country for more than a century, several new ones are keen to explore opportunities in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Commonwealth Bank of Australia and FirstRand Bank from South Africa are among those that have established commercial banking operations in India in the past two years, while Spain's second largest bank, BBVA, which set up a representative office in India in 2006, recently took its first step in India's retail banking market with a credit card joint venture with India's state-backed Bank of Baroda.
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