Finance: Gearing up to ride boom

Indian financial institutions (FIs) are fast getting their act together to counter stiff competition from the banking entities. They are also gearing up to transform themselves into 'Universal Banks', to capitalize on the opportunities available in the sector with the opening up of the Indian economy.

While some of the major banks are also now catering to demand for long-term and project finance, FIs remain the conventional sources of the same. With most FIs being converted to banks (ICICI, IDBI and the like), the term FI has now remained restricted to NBFCs and HFCs.