India is one of the fastest-growing economies of the 21st century and is ranked amongst the top five economies globally. One of the biggest reasons behind this stupendous growth is the robust banking network that India possesses. As per the latest IMF (International Monetary Fund) and RBI (Reserve Bank of India) Data, India has the most extensive branch network for commercial banks in the world. The banking system in India presently includes more than 1.3 lakh bank branches with an almost equal number of urban as well as rural branches, i.e., 38% in urban areas, 34% in rural areas, and 28% in semi-urban areas.
This extensive network of Commercial Banks in India enables every common citizen with easy access to the banking facilities, helping with the progress of the country.
Biggest Commercial Bank in India
At present, the State Bank of India (SBI) is the biggest commercial bank in India. SBI is a public sector bank and has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It has a total of 16 regional hubs and 57 zonal offices located at almost every city throughout India.
What are Commercial banks?
Commercial Banks are the financial institutions which are licensed by the Central Bank of the country, i.e., RBI, to perform essential banking functions including accepting deposits and offering Personal Loans and other lending options. The principal aim of the commercial banks in India is to earn profits, i.e., they engage in banking business to generate profits.
Apart from individual customers, commercial banks in India deal with business entities as well offer several types of Short-Term and Long-Term Loans. The primary source of profit for the best Commercial Banks in India is the difference between interest rates charged from borrowers and interest rates offered to depositors.
Biggest Commercial Bank in India
At present, the State Bank of India (SBI) is the biggest commercial bank in India. SBI is a public sector bank and has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It has a total of 16 regional hubs and 57 zonal offices located at almost every city throughout India.
Largest Commercial Bank in India
With 16 regional hubs and 57 zonal offices present in almost every city across India, the State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest commercial bank in India. It is a public sector bank with its headquarters located in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Different Types of Commercial Banks in India
Commercial Banks in India can be classified into three different categories:
1. Public Sector Banks:
These banks are those financial institutions that have at least 51% of their ownership being held by the central government. The management control is also in the hands of the union government. State Bank of India, PNB, Bank of India are some of the leading public sector banks in the country.
2. Private Sector Banks:
These banks are the financial institutions whose majority shareholding is with corporations and individuals. In 1993, RBI allowed the formation of new private sector banks in India, and this led to the rapid expansion of the banking network in the country. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank are some of the leading private sector banks in India.
3. Foreign Banks:
These banks have their headquarters located outside India. They perform their banking functions through their wholly controlled subsidiaries. Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Bank are some of the leading foreign banks in India.
Top Commercial Banks in India
State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, and Canara Bank are the 10 top commercial banks in India. These banks have a huge network of branches, strong customer base and great customer service system.
List of Top 10 commercial banks in India
With numerous commercial banks offering their services in the country, you might be wondering about the best Commercial Banks in India. For your convenience and information, here is a list of the top 10 types of commercial bank in India –
1. State Bank of India
State Bank of India is the biggest commercial bank in India with 24,000+ branches across various locations in India as well as 190+ overseas branches in 36 countries. SBI boasts of 25% share of the entire loans and deposits market in India along with 23% of market share in assets. SBI also features in the Fortune Global 500 list of biggest corporations in the world. Government of India holds 61.23% of the ownership of the bank as of March 2019.
HDFC Bank is a leading private sector bank and is in the list of top 5 commercial banks in India right now. It started its operations in 1994. Presently, the bank boasts of 5,100+ branches across various cities in India. Thanks to its excellent customer service and innovative products, HDFC has won several awards over the years including the award for best bank in India in 2019 by FinanceAsia magazine. With 1,00,000+ employees and total market assets of more than 11,89,432 crores, HDFC Bank is indeed a leading name in the Indian banking sector.
ICICI Bank is a prominent private sector Commercial Bank which was established in the year 1994. It is among the top 5 commercial banks in India currently. At present, ICICI Bank has more than 4,800 branches and 14,000+ ATMs across various cities in India with a presence in 17 international locations. ICICI Bank employs 84,000+ employees and has annual revenue of more than Rs. 77,900 crores. The total market assets of the bank as of 2019 are Rs. 9,29,652 crores.
Kotak Mahindra Bank is a premier private sector bank in India which began its operations in the year 2003. With total assets of more than Rs. 2.14 trillion, it is the second-largest private sector bank in India. Kotak Bank employs 33,000+ employees and has more than 1,300 branches across India. The annual revenue of the bank is more than Rs. 285 billion.
Bank of Baroda is a leading public sector bank of India and was founded in the year 1908. As of 2019, the bank has 9500+ branches and employs more than 85,000 personnel. It is India’s second-largest bank by market capitalisation, which as of March 2019, stands at Rs. 3.58 trillion. With the recent merger of Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank, and Vijaya Bank, the new entity is now the third-largest bank in India.
Axis Bank is the third-largest private sector bank of India which started its operations in 1993. It has an extensive network of 4,000+ branches and 11,800+ ATMs across India. The employee strength of the bank presently stands at 61,000+. As of March 2019, the total market capitalisation of Axis Bank is more than Rs. 1.31 trillion with total assets to the tune of Rs. 8.1 trillion.
IndusInd Bank, a leading private sector bank, started its operations in the year 1994 and presently operates 1,500+ branches and 2,400+ ATMs across all major cities of India. The employee strength of the bank is 25,000+ while the total assets are more than Rs. 178,648 crore.
Popularly known as PNB, this bank started its operations in the year 1894. Presently, it boasts of more than 110 million customers who are served through 7000+ branches and 10,600+ ATMs. PNB presently employs more than 70,000 personnel across India. The shareholding of the government in PNB is 75.4%. Total assets of the bank are Rs. 774,949 crores while the annual revenue is more than Rs. 58,600 crores.
Bank of India is a leading public sector commercial bank which started its operations in the year 1906. Bank of India has an extensive network of 5,100+ branches across India with more than 48,000 employees. Bank of India has 56 branches located outside India as well. The total assets of the bank are to the tune of Rs. 6.3 trillion with the annual revenue being Rs. 462.6 billion.
Canara Bank was founded in the year 1906 and is presently one of the largest public-sector commercial banks in India. Canara Bank has more than 6,300 branches spread across 4,400+ cities along with 8,800+ ATMs. As of 2019, the employee strength of Canara Bank is 58,000+ with total assets to the tune of Rs. 711,782 crores.
These top commercial banks in India not only offer assistance to every citizen to open a bank account to facilitate monetary transactions but also extend various types of loans which give impetus to the growth of the country.
Best Commercial Bank in India
HDFC Bank is the best commercial bank in India because of the following reasons:
It was amongst the first banks to receive an ‘in principle’ approval from the RBI or Reserve Bank of India to set up a bank in the private sector in 1994.
It is the top Constituents in Bank Nifty.
It has a total revenue of Rs. 105,161 Crores in 2021.
It employs 98061 employees.
It has a network of 13,160 ATMs and 5,103 branches in India.
It has a customer base of over 49 million.
FAQs
SBI is the largest commercial bank of the country.
SBI is the largest commercial bank in India.
ICICI Bank is the second largest commercial bank of India.
Top 10 commercial banks in India are the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, and Canara Bank.
Updated On May 16, 2026
Written By
Written By Aparna SharmaDirector of MyMoneyMantraCredit Cards, Credit Score, Personal Loan, Home Loan, etc.
Director- MyMoneyMantra FinTech| A senior retail and commercial banking professional, adept at handling Business Development, Sales Planning & Growth, Product Strategy, Marketing Operations and Client advisory services phygitally.
Written By Reshma RawatAssistant Content ManagerCredit Cards, Credit Score, Personal Loan, Home Loan, etc.
Reshma Rawat is a passionate writer with a decade of experience in writing for a variety of domains (finance, technology, lifestyle, e-commerce, real estate, etc.). Currently, she is working as Assistant Manager - Content @MyMoneyMantra and writes blogs & webpages on financial products (loans, credit cards, insurance, government financial policies, mutual funds, etc.).
