Merchant Banking in India

Merchant Banking is an important service provided by a number of financial institutions that helps in the growth of the corporate sector which ultimately reflects into the overall economic development of the country. Merchant banks were expected to perform several functions like issue management, underwriting, portfolio management, loan syndication, consultant, advisor and host of other activities. SEBI was also made all powerful to regulate the activities of merchant banks in the best interest of investors and economy. Apart, merchant banking was the necessity of banks themselves which were in need of non-fund based income so as to improve their profitability margins by all means in the changed economic scenario. Now, it could be anybody’s anxiety to know whether merchant banks are performing their duties honestly as they were expected to do. What duties they performs most and in what capacity. Whether merchant banking business helped banks themselves to improve their overall profitability. Does the socio, political and economic environment prevailing today sufficiently warrant, the growth of merchant banking or otherwise? An honest attempt is being made to seek answer of these questions and also to suggest remedial measures wherever possible on the basis of empirical study done, the writing of which appears in the form of this book.