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With economic and financial sector reforms introduced in India since the early 1990s, the operating environment for banks in India has undergone a rapid change. Foreign banks have been operating in India for more than a century and a half. The operations of FBs received a considerable boost during the post-reform era beginning with the year 1993. In the emerging financial and banking scenario of openness and promotion of greater economic efficiency, the need for an expanded role and operation of foreign banks has gained further backing in India. The policy stance towards foreign banks has greatly been liberalised and the latest in the series being the declaration of the Road Map of FBs´ by the RBI implying completely new avenues for growth and different prototypes of representations in India. In this context, it would be important to assess the financial health of the foreign banks. The present study seeks to pinpoint the strength and weaknesses of the select foreign banks under study and to have comparisons with the domestic banks in terms of growth, profitability and operational efficiency.

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G.Shanthi, Completed Doctor of Philosophy in Commerce at Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Assistant Professor of Commerce, Thiruvalluvar Govt. Arts College, Rasipuram, Tamilnadu, India.

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