Epitopes of Profitability and Efficiency of Old Private Sector Banks in India with Focus on Banks in Southern State of India- A Case Study of Karnataka

Enhanced profitability and operational efficiency have become vital for banks in India for survival and growth in the ongoing era of globalization. Ever since the initiation of the financial sector reforms in the early1990s, the competition in Indian banking industry has been constantly on the rise, making the plight of Old Private sector Banks (OPBs) growingly vulnerable. Focusing on the OPBs based at Karnataka state (KOPBs, in short) in Indian union, this paper seeks to identify the determinants of profitability and operational efficiency of KOPBs, using an econometric methodology. For the sake of comparison of KOPBs, the general case of OPBs and New generation Private sector Banks (NPBs) in India have also been analyzed.