THE EVOLVING COMPETITIVE DYNAMICS IN THE RETAIL BANKING SECTOR IN INDIA: A CASE STUDY OF KARNATAKA BANK

The banking industry in India is going through a unique competitive situation: on the one hand, the proliferation of new banks has increased competition multi-fold; on the other hand, given the rigid regulatory environment, banks have very little liberty to innovate products. The entry of multinational banking giants with superior service operations has further amplified the competition for customers. This paper examines the business performance of Karnataka bank during the period between 2006 and 2014 in order to bring home some of these challenges. Based on feedback from the branch managers, savings and current accounts - two classic banking products – suffered the most in the onslaught. Practicing managers as well as customers that we interviewed held that banking services in terms of customer experience ought to be improved and that various value added services could be introduced. Customers also expected reduced penalty for minimum balance and enhanced insurance cover for their accounts.