Just as finance and banking is undergoing changes in many areas of the world, the range of banks and banking services offered in India and Bangladesh is also adapting to meet the needs of consumers today. Along with more traditional banks, such as Andhra Bank, which has been in business since 1923 and the Bangladesh Bank, which serves as the central bank of Bangladesh, financial institutions based in other nations have also carved out a significant presence, such as Bank of America and Deutsche Bank. The great thing about this increased range of choices is that consumers are now able to enjoy access to features that were either limited or not even offered as recently as a decade ago.
Domestic banks continue to provide the widest coverage in various parts of Bangladesh and India. Two banks in particular, ICICI Bank and the Bank of India are major players within those markets. While ICICI has far fewer branches than the older and more established Bank of India, the institution has made inroads into a number of banking services and has quickly become a power to be reckoned with since its inception in 1994. Much of the growth has to do with not only expansion within India, but also the establishment of branches in a number of countries around the world.
Internationally based banks have also been allowed into India and Bangladesh and have provided competition for the established institutions. The Bank of America, along with Deutsche Bank, are two prime examples.
Demonstrating an ability to adapt to the culture and banking laws necessary to ensure operations, these banks have been able to capture attention owing to their ability to provide international services that some of the domestic banks are just beginning to offer.
All this competition among banks with a presence in India and Bangladesh has meant that some institutions have stepped up efforts to provide a wider range of financial services to consumers. Some of these relate to enhancing core services, such as current accounts, savings and investment accounts. Still others provide insurance protection for qualifying customers. Just about all of the banks have invested a great deal of time and money into creating reliable online banking access to customer accounts, even to the extent of developing proprietary software that can be used on just about any type of internet connected device. Such innovations serve to not only provide a means of competing in India and Bangladesh, but also make it easier to offer features to customers in other parts of the world that may not be readily available in those locations. The end result is that bank customers have instant access to their account information any time and from just about anywhere in the world.
The rate of expansion of both physical and virtual access to bank locations has meant that there is a constant shift regarding which banks constitute the top players in India and Bangladesh, with institutions like the Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and ICICI outpacing each other on a regular basis. As ever more banks vie for customers, there is no doubt that consumers can look forward to additional service options, possibly lower pricing on some services and increased access to those services around the clock.
