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The Inside Story of Indian Banking
India’s banking story—the good, the bad and the ugly
Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Chanda Kochhar, Rana Kapoor and others who have managed to game the banking industry, with possible assistance from bankers, auditors, regulators, bureaucrats and politicians, are all here. The sordid saga of banking frauds and defaults has, after all, become the mainstay of news today. But there’s more to the Indian banking story than just white-collared crime. There are reformist laws and legal tussles, the slowing down of credit lines, the mergers of banks, the safety of deposits, and now the Corona lockdown, all adding flavour to the brew.
In The Inside Story of Indian Banking, journalist and author Sandip Sen deep dives into data and interacts with over 60 bankers, lawyers, analysts and professionals to present a thrilling account of deep-rooted corruption and path-breaking reforms in India’s banking industry. He maps the trajectory of Indian banking—from its chaotic beginnings under colonial rule to bank nationalization in 1969, from banking post liberalization to the present-day mergers, and a crisis where frauds balloon as laws are tightened. The book not only highlights the deep-rooted problems, but also offers solutions from bankers themselves.
A tell-all story of Indian banking, this book is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the system that holds our money.
Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Chanda Kochhar, Rana Kapoor and others who have managed to game the banking industry, with possible assistance from bankers, auditors, regulators, bureaucrats and politicians, are all here. The sordid saga of banking frauds and defaults has, after all, become the mainstay of news today. But there’s more to the Indian banking story than just white-collared crime. There are reformist laws and legal tussles, the slowing down of credit lines, the mergers of banks, the safety of deposits, and now the Corona lockdown, all adding flavour to the brew.
In The Inside Story of Indian Banking, journalist and author Sandip Sen deep dives into data and interacts with over 60 bankers, lawyers, analysts and professionals to present a thrilling account of deep-rooted corruption and path-breaking reforms in India’s banking industry. He maps the trajectory of Indian banking—from its chaotic beginnings under colonial rule to bank nationalization in 1969, from banking post liberalization to the present-day mergers, and a crisis where frauds balloon as laws are tightened. The book not only highlights the deep-rooted problems, but also offers solutions from bankers themselves.
A tell-all story of Indian banking, this book is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the system that holds our money.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2020
7 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 2, 2021
We used to use as much jargon as possible during MBA GD/PI. But once we landed in our jobs, we were faced with the actual implementation of those jargons. I feel the field or domain having maximum jargon must be the banking and financial domain, every year governing bodies introduce multiple laws and new jargons to follow.
In India no matter from which age group you belong, you must have heard at least one scam in this domain every five years. With so many rules and regulations, with so many audits to follow, and even with such a digitized state how people are still fooling around authorities. It is a big question. I had many such doubts when I picked up this book.
If you are not aware of the history of Indian banking, then how you can judge current regulations. To bring you to the same level, the author has started with all basic details on how banking started in India. Then the author takes us to a post-independence era where banks started facing real problems, following which nationalization came. The author has properly covered those details. Then comes post-1991 liberalization, and the country started getting competent banks from private sectors. Through this author has covered many big scams and how they happened. The last segment of the book covers the solution accumulated by the author from his experience and experiences of various stalwarts of the domain.
My observations
1) Though the book is non-fiction the writing style makes you feel it like a fiction one
2) There was an order in which content is prepared and that can keep readers interest intact
3) Author has made all efforts to keep the book less academic and keep it reader-friendly (not student-friendly)
4) Language and wording are easy and smooth. One can finish this book in 3-4 sittings.
5) Minimum use of jargons and if they are used, they are explained in layman's terms.
Overall a good attempt to bring facts of the financial domain. I will give 3.75 out of 5 to this book.
In India no matter from which age group you belong, you must have heard at least one scam in this domain every five years. With so many rules and regulations, with so many audits to follow, and even with such a digitized state how people are still fooling around authorities. It is a big question. I had many such doubts when I picked up this book.
If you are not aware of the history of Indian banking, then how you can judge current regulations. To bring you to the same level, the author has started with all basic details on how banking started in India. Then the author takes us to a post-independence era where banks started facing real problems, following which nationalization came. The author has properly covered those details. Then comes post-1991 liberalization, and the country started getting competent banks from private sectors. Through this author has covered many big scams and how they happened. The last segment of the book covers the solution accumulated by the author from his experience and experiences of various stalwarts of the domain.
My observations
1) Though the book is non-fiction the writing style makes you feel it like a fiction one
2) There was an order in which content is prepared and that can keep readers interest intact
3) Author has made all efforts to keep the book less academic and keep it reader-friendly (not student-friendly)
4) Language and wording are easy and smooth. One can finish this book in 3-4 sittings.
5) Minimum use of jargons and if they are used, they are explained in layman's terms.
Overall a good attempt to bring facts of the financial domain. I will give 3.75 out of 5 to this book.
January 21, 2021
The inside story of Indian banking is a nonfiction work by Sandip Sen which talks about the reforms, changes and frauds happened in Indian banking since its establishment to the current era. For purpose of this book, the author has interviewed several lawyers, bankers and analysts to get the facts and present a thrilling story of deep-rooted corruption and path-breaking reforms in India's banking industry.
The author has very well given the detailed account of frauds, reforms and new policies brought in the banking world. The scams were shocking and interesting part of this book. This book was really helpful for me in understanding and get to know with various banking and finance-related terms.
This book is the fast pace which made it a little tough for me to digest things as most of these stuff were new to me.
Overall it was a nice and detailed account of events related to the Indian banking industry. I will recommend this book if you are interested in knowing the story of Indian banking. Happy Reading!
The author has very well given the detailed account of frauds, reforms and new policies brought in the banking world. The scams were shocking and interesting part of this book. This book was really helpful for me in understanding and get to know with various banking and finance-related terms.
This book is the fast pace which made it a little tough for me to digest things as most of these stuff were new to me.
Overall it was a nice and detailed account of events related to the Indian banking industry. I will recommend this book if you are interested in knowing the story of Indian banking. Happy Reading!
December 10, 2020
Inside story of Indian banking, and wait this is not a book of economics or commerce so wait!
Reading non fiction is informative but sometimes it could be boring and also a lot of information makes the reading tedious, but this isn't the case here.
The style with which the book opens, introducing the banks their history, the why's and how's of the bank builds up the momentum of great curiosity for these subjects.
The writing elements and composition is like conversation with an amazing person, well that's what makes a book amazing and different from boring book.
I'm not a lover of books which just throw information ceaselessly at the reader which feels like a burden. But reading this book was super easy, the terminologies and simple narration makes it a very informative yet interesting read.
The book talks about the bank, the working system, and crisis. Yup basically it is all about that.
But not limited to it.
So as you read you are going to discover different aspects and working system.
The book is result of analysis of data and conversation with several important and knowledgeable people. Reading it is like having a talk with them over these topics.
As you read you are going to learn a lot.
This is a work of non fiction and result of in depth analysis, but that doesn't means or guarantees the absolutely reality of content. I'm not saying that information here is wrong as I cannot judge that, but you may need to search few things yourselves if you are looking to get in a new dimension.
Reading non fiction is informative but sometimes it could be boring and also a lot of information makes the reading tedious, but this isn't the case here.
The style with which the book opens, introducing the banks their history, the why's and how's of the bank builds up the momentum of great curiosity for these subjects.
The writing elements and composition is like conversation with an amazing person, well that's what makes a book amazing and different from boring book.
I'm not a lover of books which just throw information ceaselessly at the reader which feels like a burden. But reading this book was super easy, the terminologies and simple narration makes it a very informative yet interesting read.
The book talks about the bank, the working system, and crisis. Yup basically it is all about that.
But not limited to it.
So as you read you are going to discover different aspects and working system.
The book is result of analysis of data and conversation with several important and knowledgeable people. Reading it is like having a talk with them over these topics.
As you read you are going to learn a lot.
This is a work of non fiction and result of in depth analysis, but that doesn't means or guarantees the absolutely reality of content. I'm not saying that information here is wrong as I cannot judge that, but you may need to search few things yourselves if you are looking to get in a new dimension.
January 30, 2021
The book begins with the history of how banks came into existence in India. The first Bank of England set up way back in 1694 and how the success of Allahabad Bank led to other banks emerging.
How RBI came into life in 1934 and evolved over some time & had many face-offs with the government.
Then it discusses the politics revolving around Bank nationalisation, which was intriguing to learn.
Covering the crises banking sector faces in terms of NPA, fraud investigations, Cooperative banking that lead to rich and poor farmer divide and how they duped depositors mainly rural folk, how the fertilizer companies manipulated to avail subsidies.
From Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to Mudra Frauds, the book has an inner story for everything.
The disclosures are eye-opening in terms of how loopholes are capitalized on by people in the country. One such revelation that the book makes about the Bank Managers taking a commission to transfer rich people's money in Jan Dhan accounts during demonetisation was upsetting to read. And there are many more such stories which the book is all about.
Flipping through this book was interesting since I didn't have to deal with a lot of economics and data so I would recommend it to even a layman who has a feeblest idea about Indian Banking.
All in all, it was a very informative and engaging book to read.
How RBI came into life in 1934 and evolved over some time & had many face-offs with the government.
Then it discusses the politics revolving around Bank nationalisation, which was intriguing to learn.
Covering the crises banking sector faces in terms of NPA, fraud investigations, Cooperative banking that lead to rich and poor farmer divide and how they duped depositors mainly rural folk, how the fertilizer companies manipulated to avail subsidies.
From Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to Mudra Frauds, the book has an inner story for everything.
The disclosures are eye-opening in terms of how loopholes are capitalized on by people in the country. One such revelation that the book makes about the Bank Managers taking a commission to transfer rich people's money in Jan Dhan accounts during demonetisation was upsetting to read. And there are many more such stories which the book is all about.
Flipping through this book was interesting since I didn't have to deal with a lot of economics and data so I would recommend it to even a layman who has a feeblest idea about Indian Banking.
All in all, it was a very informative and engaging book to read.
February 3, 2021
"Adventure is the life of commerce, but caution is the life of banking."
- Walter Bagehot
Savings, insurance, interest rates, liquidity, monetary policy, debts, bank scams - these are some of the most widely discussed banking terms among common folks. However, a big question that follows is how much we actually know about these terms? How familiar are we with our banking systems that have always been such an integral part of our financial domain?
Honestly, my knowledge of banking has always been next to nothing, except for the general ideas that we are required to be acquainted with. However, this book enlightened me deeply.
From the advent of banking under colonial rule to the major developments leading to the present condition, from minor level tax exemptions to the scams that impacted the economy of the country - this book will give you insights into every facet of banking at the very grass-root level.
After interacting with several professionals from this sector, the author has mapped out a detailed analysis of India's banking story from its onset to the present times, highlighting not only the problems but also presenting possible solutions to them.
I really think that this a great book to pick up if you are curious about or want to enlighten yourself about the banking sector. I highly appreciate the author's efforts for penning down this informative read.
- Walter Bagehot
Savings, insurance, interest rates, liquidity, monetary policy, debts, bank scams - these are some of the most widely discussed banking terms among common folks. However, a big question that follows is how much we actually know about these terms? How familiar are we with our banking systems that have always been such an integral part of our financial domain?
Honestly, my knowledge of banking has always been next to nothing, except for the general ideas that we are required to be acquainted with. However, this book enlightened me deeply.
From the advent of banking under colonial rule to the major developments leading to the present condition, from minor level tax exemptions to the scams that impacted the economy of the country - this book will give you insights into every facet of banking at the very grass-root level.
After interacting with several professionals from this sector, the author has mapped out a detailed analysis of India's banking story from its onset to the present times, highlighting not only the problems but also presenting possible solutions to them.
I really think that this a great book to pick up if you are curious about or want to enlighten yourself about the banking sector. I highly appreciate the author's efforts for penning down this informative read.
January 11, 2021
The book is a very well-researched and data focused as it traces the journey of the Indian Banking system. From the times when it was completely unregulated to the current regulatory regime, and everything in between, it is an interesting read for anyone who is interested in the story of how our economy functions. The book is a chronological account, though it also takes up the explanation of points through cases well-documented in the news, which make it an even interesting read. While it has data and numbers, it is not a boring non-fiction read, but an enlightening study of the planned vs impacted results of various policies. Sandip has unabashedly discussed both sides of many policy measures such as mergers of PSBs, demonetization, IBC etc. The last chapter that details the possible solution is a very apt closure as it fits in with the overall theme of the book, and it is not just a narrative of the problems, but a well-discussed and analyzed study that brings out solutions as well. The narration is lively, and while it tends to stretch out in some places, it makes it up with the presence of graphs and tables. The chapter division is quite apt and makes the entire theme come together, specially the one about the PSB mergers.
February 8, 2021
This was my first ever book based on Indian Banking. I was so nervous as well as excited to read this one but the author's writing style is impressive. I didn't even realize that I finished this book so soon.
• This book talk about Indian Banking. It talks about the history of banks, facts about Indian Banking, frauds happening, bank policies, how actually all this works, and so many things. I had a few difficulties understanding some terms/words because I don't have any knowledge about banks. But this book has taught me many things😌.
• This is a fast-paced book. The language is a little complicated. This book is highly recommended to people who love to read finance books or who are interested to know more about the banking system.
• This book talk about Indian Banking. It talks about the history of banks, facts about Indian Banking, frauds happening, bank policies, how actually all this works, and so many things. I had a few difficulties understanding some terms/words because I don't have any knowledge about banks. But this book has taught me many things😌.
• This is a fast-paced book. The language is a little complicated. This book is highly recommended to people who love to read finance books or who are interested to know more about the banking system.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews