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When a customer opens a Savings Bank account or a Fixed Deposit account, the relationship between the customer and the Bank is that of Creditor and Debtor, the Customer being the Creditor and the Bank- the Debtor. When a customer avails loans from the Bank, personal or business, the relationship between the customer and the Bank is Debtor and Creditor, the Bank being the Creditor and the customer, the Debtor. However, the moot question is what is the nature of a contract when a customer avails the services of locker from the Bank where he keeps his articles in the locker? Banks in India consider the relationship to be either Bailment or lease, This article discusses, about the same and this author is of the opinion that it neither fits in the definition of Bailment or lease and it is only a case of "Licence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Banking' is basically trust reposed by the public. If the trust is lost, banking industry would come to a naught. If a bank fails, people who had reposed trust and deposited their hard earned savings will lose confidence and would never return to the banking system if their deposits are not protected. Therefore, protection of deposits is vital to the banking system. In this context, the concept of Deposit Insurance assumed significance which enhanced confidence in the system of banking. India is the second country to introduce Deposit Insurance and it had well served the interests of the Depositors. Recently, Government of India had increased Deposit Insurance from Rs. 1.00 lakh to Rs. 5.00 lakhs further enhancing the trust in banking. In this article, the evolution and legal framework of Deposit Insurance is discussed elaborately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crown (Government) dues get precedence over all other creditors except Secured Creditors. However, in the case of Central Bank of India Vs. State of Kerala, it was held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that if the State Tax laws like Sales Tax/VAT create first charge or priority, despite banks being Secured Creditors, the State taxes shall prevail especially in view of the fact that the laws governing the recovery of banks' dues did not contain such priority clauses. Thereafter, the law has been amended to provide priority to the banks' dues. The newly enacted Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 provided highest priority to the Secured Creditors' dues. In this article, it is discussed as to how various courts have dealt with the law of priority of secured creditors' dues and the need to make the law governing recovery of banks' dues uniform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enactment of the SARFAESI Act in 2002 was a landmark achievement for empowering the banks to enforce their security interest without the intervention of courts. However, banks find it a challenge to get possession of the property since unscrupulous borrowers create sham leases in the property and get civil suits filed against banks whereby hindrance is created for bankers. In this article, several cases have been cited to show that bankers faced a challenge since the provisions of the SARFAESI Act cannot be used to override the provisions of the Rent Control Act. Though several provisions of the SARFAESI Act have been amended by Parliament, there is a need for further amendments to ensure that banks feel more empowered to enforce the provisions of the law for ensuring speedy resolution in cases of default by borrowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]