History
Merchant Banking as a concept can be traced back to the 17th and 18th Centuries to countries like France and Italy where grain merchants intermediated or assisted other merchants in financial matters for a small fee. It developed further in countries such as the UK and USA where it was adopted by many as their profession. The modern concept of merchant banking started in the city of London where it was practiced on a large scale by merchants. These were extended to the government as well.
In India, Merchant Bank services were formally started by an already well-established National Grindlays Bank in 1967, through its merchant banking division. Although it did not offer many financial services, but it was a start. Following in the footsteps, Citibank also set up a merchant banking department in 1970 and the State Bank of India in 1972. In the years to come, most of the commercial banks in India, like the ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Syndicate Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and many others set up their own merchant banking divisions to compete in this growing market. Later, private individuals and consultancy firms, both national and international also entered this race.
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