Palmer and Company
The Palmer and Company, Limited, often simply called Palmer and Co. was an Agency House in British India founded by John Palmer, son of General William Palmer and his first wife Sarah Hazell. Palmer and Co. was the largest Agency House in British India.
Another banking company William Palmer and Company was started in 1810 in Hyderabad by William Palmer, also known as "King Palmer", son of General William Palmer and his second wife Bibi Faiz Bakhsh ‘Faiz-un-Nisa’ Begum who came from the Oudh ruling family along with the Gujarati moneylender Benkati Das. A partner in this company would later be Sir William Rumbold, 3rd Baronet.
History
Background
Before the advent of joint-stock banking companies in India, the role of banks was played by agency houses. The agency houses performed various quasi-banking functions which included but were not limited to:- Accepting deposits
- Financing trade
- Lending of money
Business
The Palmer and Co. was founded with the name Paxton, Cockerell and Trail. Their name was later changed to Palmer and Co.In 1829, Palmer and Co. financed and exported more than 16% of all the Indigo produced in British India. As a result, Palmer and Co. came to be known as the Indigo King of Bengal.