Online published on 10 October, 2013.
The changes that have taken place in Indian banking sector have forced banks to dissociate themselves from their traditional approach to banking functions and associate with new and progressive functions which has given rise to the conglomeration trend in the banking industry driven by deregulation and increased competition. The regulatory environment has provided much required autonomy to the banking system offering them opportunities and also posed challenges. Under such environment banks consistently churn their investment portfolio. It becomes pertinent to analyze the investment pattern which includes mainly Indian government securities, other domestic securities, foreign securities, instruments of capital market and investments in public sector enterprises etc. Due to liberalization of economy the impact of global economic environment is unavoidable on Indian economy as well. The cyclical fluctuations in the world economy during the last decade (from 2000 to 2010) have made their impact on Indian economy. The economic growth and macroeconomic indicators affect the business functions of the banks. In order to insulate from economic upheavals, banks have to shift their investments more strategically. Thus it becomes important for the researchers to observe these trends of investments of banks over a fairly large period of time.
