Impact Analysis of Basel III Norms on the Profitability of Indian Public Sector Banks

The banking sector of an economy is a prominent sector as it assists the flow of financial resources to productive sectors. The financial crisis of 2008 impelled the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) to introduce Basel III norms in the year 2010 to make banks more resilient during any such financial crisis. Using two key financial indicators—Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE), this study seeks to evaluate the profitability of Indian public sector banks subsequent to the enforcement of Basel III regulations. This study is based on 12 Indian public sector banks and uses data from the years 2009 to 2023. This study found that public sector banks in India saw a decline in profitability after being exposed to Basel III regulations, although there has been an improvement since 2022. The author recommended that there must be close monitoring of the adoption of Basel III by the financial regulators.