When it comes to banks right here in India, people often think it is all just Indian origin banks, and that’s all! But nah, instead of that, there are actually as many as 44 operational overseas banks right here in the country. And many of these banks actually work or function like the actual Indian origin big banks, like they have branches, representative offices, or wholly-owned subsidiaries. So, if you have always wondered about knowing a little more about the foreign banks in India, then this is the post you should be following. Here, we’re about to list out the Top 10 Foreign Banks in India 2025, so let’s get to it then.
1. Standard Chartered Bank
The first important thing to remember is Standard Chartered Bank is a big name in India. It has been around for one hundred and sixty plus years! That is to say, the oldest foreign bank and, possibly, the biggest one in the country. In 2025, it has over 100 branches sprawled over 42 cities, which is a fairly extensive network. The headquarters is in London, United Kingdom, and it went down in history for being the first foreign bank to get Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) listed in India back in 2010. What do they do? They concentrate more on corporate banking, commercial lending, and wealth management, but they also provide services like personal loans, credit cards, and NRI services.
2. HSBC India
HSBC came to India around 1853, with the setting up of the Mercantile Bank of India in Mumbai. Now it is wholly owned by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Hong Kong. Not a lot of people know this, but it was actually HSBC that first brought the ATMs right here in India, so yes, that’s something we should thank them for. By 2025, the bank will have approximately 24 branches scattered across the country, the most ordinary coast-to-coast presence offering a full range of services from personal banking, loans, credit cards, foreign exchange, and corporate banking.
3. Citibank
If we go all the way back, Citibank has been in India since 1902, thus, Citibank carries quite an ancient history in the country. Skipping along to recent trends, it sold off its consumer banking to Axis Bank. Yet, the year 2025 will nevertheless see Citibank operating as a giant name in corporate and investment banking, treasury assets, and wealth management. Its Indian office is located in Mumbai and deals with very large multinational corporations and high-net-worth individuals. They conduct stupendous global transactions on a daily basis, the trillions-of-dollars kind of big!
4. Deutsche Bank
The year 1980 marked the entry of the Deutsche Bank into India from Germany so to speak. Banks act in a total of 16 cities and provide retail-banking-related deposits, investment-banking, and wealth management services. Equity, private wealth, and financial advisory are among their strongest offerings. In the year 2025, the name Deutsche Bank shall be a dependable choice for those businesses or individuals who want a touch of global banking quality along with good local service.
5. DBS Bank
Let us talk about DBS Bank now. This is a unique presence in the banking sector because it has a wholly-owned subsidiary in India by the name of DBS Bank India Ltd., set up in Singapore. They came in 1994, probably one of the older ones, with about 12 branches. These do count for fewer than those of their counterparts, but don’t let that make you underestimate them! DBS is regarded as a digital bank-and that entails being paperless about account opening and mobile-first marketing.
6. Barclays Bank
Barclays is a prominent bank based in the United Kingdom that has had a presence in India since 1990. It might not be the bank with more branches, but it sure does rank high in investment banking, M&A advisory, and corporate lending. In 2025, they are kinda at the apex for large Indian corporates on international fundraising, particularly in debt and offshore markets. Another interesting fact: the bank has had investments in India exceeding $800 million, employing more than 23,000 people in its technology and shared services arms.
7. Bank of America
With Bank of America being in India since 1928, there certainly is some history to draw upon. The Bank sticks mostly to corporate and investment banking with just five branches located across Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore. In 2025, they are engaging with the big corporate houses like Reliance, Tata, and Aditya Birla Group to help in capital raising, mergers, or cross-border deals. The Bank has a technology and operations center in Mumbai, and its India unit is regulated separately from the parent by the RBI.
8. BNP Paribas
If you can talk about longevity, BNP Paribas, the most prominent French bank, has been in India since 1860. Yes, 1860 that is! In the major cities of Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru, activities of BNP Paribas include corporate banking, hedging, derivatives, and sustainable finance. They are large players in green banking financing eco-friendly projects and infrastructure in 2025. Not so much retail banking, they do various things for big enterprises-from financing to equity solutions.
9. Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK)
BBK has been rendering its services in India ever since the bank was established in 1986 with four branches in metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad. They are not the biggest, but they rely on fairly established banks for maximum reliability in providing services, speedy remittances, and lending facilities to SMEs and medium-sized companies.
10. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
Oh, and last, but definitely not least, ICBC is known as the largest bank in the world by asset base, and in India, they seem to be gently growing. They do not have many branches, but big strides will be made in 2025 through India-China trade support. While they do provide cross-border banking, corporate lending, and trade finance-they are especially strong in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. If you’re in companies dealing on an international scale, then ICBC should be considered an important strategic partner.
Conclusion
That is pretty much it. These are by far the biggest and best foreign banks that are doing phenomenally well in India as of 2025. Maybe you’re just intrigued about the subject, or it could be that you’re looking forward to getting access to some of the services these banks have to offer. In any case, we hope this post helped you out in some way.
