Canara Bank is a major commercial bank. It was established in India in 1906, which makes it among the older Indian banks. As on 2009 November, the bank had a network of 2861 branches, spread across India and other countries. Its head office is located in Bangalore, India. The bank also has international presence in several centers, including London, Hong Kong, Moscow, Shanghai, Doha, and Dubai. In terms of business it is one of the largest nationalized commercial banks in India, with a total business of about Rs.2 trillion.
History
The late Sri. Ammembal Subba Rao Pai, a philanthropist, established the Canara Bank Hindu Permanent Fund in Mangalore, India, on 1 July 1906.[1] The bank changed its name to Canara Bank Limited in 1910 when it incorporated.
In 1958, the Reserve Bank of India ordered Canara Bank to acquire G. Raghumathmul Bank, in Hyderabad. This bank had been established in 1870, and had converted to a limited company in 1925. At the time of the acquisition the bank had five branches.[2]
The Government of India nationalised Canara Bank, along with 13 other major commercial banks of India, on 19 July 1969.
In 1976, Canara Bank inaugurated its 1000th branch.
In 1983, Canara Bank opened its first overseas office, a branch in London. In 1985, Canara Bank acquired Lakshmi Commercial Bank in a rescue.
In 1984, Canara Bank acquired the Laksmi Commercial Bank.
In 1985, Canara Bank established a subsidiary in Hong Kong, Indo Hong Kong International Finance Ltd.
In 2008-9, Canara Bank opened its third foreign branch, this one in Shanghai.
Founding Principles
- To remove superstition and ignorance.
- To spread education among all to sub-serve the first principle.
- To inculcate the habit of thrift and savings.
- To transform the financial institution not only as the financial heart of the community but the social heart as well.
- To assist the needy.
- To work with sense of service and dedication.
- To develop a concern for fellow human being and sensitivity to the surroundings with a view to make changes/remove hardships and sufferings.
Forbes Global 2000 Ranking 2006
Canara Bank was ranked at 1299 in the Forbes Global 2000 list [3].
Subsidiary Companies
- Canfin Homes Limited
- Canbank Factors Limited
- Canbank Venture Capital Fund Limited
- Canbank Computer Services Limited
- Gilt Securities Trading Limited
- Canara Robeco Asset Management Company Limited
- Canbank Financial Services Limited
- Canara HSBC Oriental Life Insurance Company Limited
Regional Rural Banks
Development projects
Canara bank made a partnership with UNEP to initiate a successful solar loan programme. It was a four-year $7.6 million effort, launched in April 2003 to help accelerate the market for financing solar home systems in southern India.
Major IT initiative
Canara Bank had a major IT initiative to network all branches and move them to a single software platform. Canara Bank chose Flexcube from i-flex solutions as the application. The Bank entered into an agreement with IBM for rolling out flexcube to over 1000 branches as part of Phase I. This phase has just been concluded, with Karaikudi Branch in Tamil Nadu being the 1000th branch to go live. Over 22 million customers are benefitting from this initiative. In March 2009 IT Examiner published reports[4] of major problems with the flexcube implementation.
Financial Results FY 2007-08
- Gross Income: Rs.16723.04 Crore
- Net PAT: Rs.1795.33 Crore
- EPS: Rs.43.79
See also
Further reading
- A Banking Odyssey: The Canara Bank Story (ISBN 706958306) by M V Kamath
References
