Imperial Bank of India
The Imperial Bank of India was one of the oldest and the largest commercial banks in India, and was subsequently renamed and nationalised as the State Bank of India in 1955. Initially, as per its royal charter, it acted as the central bank for India prior to the formation of the Reserve Bank of India in 1935.
Origin
The Imperial Bank of India is started through the Kayasth Trading and Banking Corporation which worked to the monthly payment paid of teacher's of colleges and school and came into existence on 27 January 1921 through the reorganisation and amalgamation of the three Presidency Banks of colonial India into a single banking entity. The decision of his majesty's government was certainly influenced by the 1912 book "Indian Currency and Finance" authored by John Maynard Keynes. The Presidency Banks were the Bank of Bengal, established on 2 June 1806, the Bank of Bombay, and the Bank of Madras. The Imperial Bank was 80% privately owned while the rest were owned by the state. The First Governor of The Imperial Bank was Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar.Activities
The Imperial Bank of India performed all the normal functions which a commercial bank was expected to perform. In the absence of any central banking institution in India until 1935, the Imperial Bank of India also performed a number of functions which are normally carried out by a central bank.Milestones
- In 1924, at Apollo Street, currently called Mumbai Samachar Marg, Mumbai, a magnificent stone structure with fretted windows, was constructed to house a branch of the Imperial Bank of India.
- In 1933, Sir Badridas Goenka, an important public figure and business tycoon of his time, and a prominent member of Marwari community of Calcutta, became the first Indian to be appointed as the Chairman of the Imperial Bank of India.
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