History of Banking in India - The British East India Company established "The Hindustan Bank" in Calcutta and Bombay in 1770 and later in 1785 established other banks. In early nineteenth century three Presidency Banks, Bank of Bengal, Bank of Bombay and Bank of Madras were established.

The first major event in the history of banking in India took place in 1919 when the Presidency banks were amalgamated and Imperial Bank of India was set up. Banking Companies (Inspection Ordinance) was passed in January 1946, and in February 1946, Banking Companies (Restriction of Branches) Act was passed. In 1949, the Banking Companies Act was passed which was later amended to read as Banking Regulation Act

The main aim of the reform measures was to ensure that the balance sheets of banks must reflect their actual financial health

In 1993 new private sector banks were allowed to be set up in the Indian Banking System to increase productivity and efficiency of the banking system. A committee headed by Shri M. Narasimham, to review the record of implementation of financial system reforms recommended by the CFS in 1991 was constituted in December 1997. In 2001 the revised guidelines for entry of new banks in private sector were issued. Subsequently, for the conversion of Non Banking Financial Corporations into Scheduled Banks, guidelines were also issued