*Banking has always been an integral component of the business scene of Madras city. Prior to the advent of modern commercial banks, the Nattukottai Chettiars or Nagarathars offered banking business services to the public. They mostly lived in and around George Town and offered loans as well as accepted both 'current' and 'fixed' deposits from the public. They are remembered for giving liberal loans to the agricultural labourers. * *The city's first modern commercial bank, widely known as the Madras Bank, was established around the beginning of the nineteenth century. It initially functioned from the Exchange Building - the building housing the present Fort Museum-- within Fort St. George. *
*This bank was, in 1843, replaced by a new bank called the Bank of Madras. On 27 January, 1921, the latter bank merged with the Bank of Bombay and the Bank of Bengal (earlier called Bank of Calcutta) to form the Imperial Bank of India. * *On 1 July, 1955, the Imperial Bank of India was renamed the State Bank of India (SBI). The city's main office of the SBI is presently housed in a historic building that earlier housed the Bank of Madras. Located on North Beach Road, now called Rajaji Salai, the building was designed by Henry Irwin, the famous British architect, and built by Namberumal Chetty, a leading local builder, around the year 1896. * *Madras has been the birthplace of many other modern commercial banks. With their rich banking experience, the Nagarathars were involved in the founding and initial management of some of these banks. Among the bigger banks started with Nagarathar support, Indian Bank is one of the earliest and most important. The founding of this bank was the indirect result of the tragic crash of Arbuthnot & Co (1906), one of the earliest mercantile establishments of the city. Soon after this crash, efforts were initiated to start a 'native' bank in Madras. The Indian Bank Ltd. was registered on 5 March, 1907 and it opened its doors for business on August 15 in the same year. * *The Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) was founded on 20 November, 1936 by a Nagarathar named M Ct M Chidambaram Chettyar while he was still a Director of the Indian Bank. During its initial years, the IOB was known as 'Chettiar Bank' among the locals. One of the chief objectives of this bank has been international exchange or overseas transactions - it is thus, the first bank owned by Indians to focus on this vital aspect of banking. * *The IOB commenced operations simultaneously in Madras, Karaikudi, and Rangoon (in Burma or Myanmar) on 10 February, 1937. All these three places had a very large Nagarathar population in those days. Till today, both the Indian Bank and the IOB, initially called 'sister banks', are amongst the biggest banks in India. * *Besides the main office of the SBI, many of the city's bank offices are housed in heritage structures belonging to the British or the Colonial period. Many of these buildings are clustered around North Beach Road or Rajaji Salai which was, during the British rule, the most important commercial hub of the city. * <http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/worldmalayaliclub/> *வாழிய செந்தமிழ்! வாழ்க நற்றமிழர்!* *வாழிய பாரதமணித் திருநாடு!* [image: 31338159] *v **a n a k k a m** S u b b u* [image: 31338047] [image: GATO CACHETON] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
