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Top US banks join hands to fight sanctions against India

As the US administration grapples Joining hands, nine American banks have asked the US administration to restrict its sanctions -- slapped on India after it conducted nuclear tests last week -- to the Indian government.

Their objective is to ensure that the US sanctions would not affect the Indian public and the private sector. They have also demanded that nationalised Indian banks should be spared.

The message of the proposed document -- being prepared jointly by Citibank, Bank of America, Fleet Bank, European American Bank, Bank of New York, American Express Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank, Bankers Trust and Morgan Guarantee -- seems to be loud and clear: that no commercial activity with India should suffer due to the sanctions.

Coming in handy in this regard is the argument that the loans extended to these outfits have been on commercial -- but not concessional -- terms.

Considering the clout of these banks -- which are against bracketing India with rogue states -- these demands may have a bearing on the US law-makers. The document is expected to be ready in a couple of weeks.

The development has also provided some relief to the Indian banking industry which was about to feel the pinch of the sanctions, largely due to the measures taken by the Japanese and US banks.