India’s banking story—the good, the bad and the ugly Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Chanda Kochhar, Rana Kapoor and others who have managed to game the banking industry, with possible assistance from bankers, auditors, regulators, bureaucrats and politicians, are all here. The sordid saga of banking frauds and defaults has, after all, become the mainstay of news today. But there’s more to the Indian banking story than just white-collared crime. There are reformist laws and legal tussles, the slowing down of credit lines, the mergers of banks, the safety of deposits, and now the Corona lockdown, all adding flavour to the brew. In The Inside Story of Indian Banking, journalist and author Sandip Sen deep dives into data and interacts with over 60 bankers, lawyers, analysts and professionals to present a thrilling account of deep-rooted corruption and path-breaking reforms in India’s banking industry. He maps the trajectory of Indian banking—from its chaotic beginnings under colonial rule to bank nationalization in 1969, from banking post liberalization to the present-day mergers, and a crisis where frauds balloon as laws are tightened. The book not only highlights the deep-rooted problems, but also offers solutions from bankers themselves. It details seven key steps needed to reform a sinking industry and open up credit lines without having to resort to mass privatization, which is anyway difficult with bleeding balance sheets. A tell-all story of Indian banking, this book is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the system that holds our money.