Allahabad Bank

A 1989 stamp dedicated to the 125th anniversary of Allahabad Bank

On 24 April 1865, a group of Europeans founded Allahabad Bank in Allahabad. By the end of the 19th century it had branches at Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Nainital, Calcutta, and Delhi.

In the early 20th century, with the start of Swadeshi movement, Allahabad Bank witnessed a spurt in deposits. In 1920, P & O Banking Corporation acquired Allahabad Bank with a bid price of ₹436 (US$6.10) per share. In 1923 the bank moved its head office and the registered office to Calcutta for reasons of both operational convenience and business opportunities. Then in 1927 Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China (Chartered Bank) acquired P&O Bank. However, Chartered Bank continued to operate Allahabad Bank as a separate entity.

Allahabad Bank opened a branch in Rangoon (Yangon). At some point, Chartered Bank amalgamated Allahabad Bank's branch in Rangoon with its own.[7] In 1963 the revolutionary government in Burma nationalized the Chartered Bank's operations there, which became People's Bank No. 2.[8]

On 19 July 1969, the Indian Government nationalised Allahabad Bank, along with 13 other banks.

In October 1989, Allahabad Bank acquired United Industrial Bank, a Calcutta-based bank that had been established in 1940 and that brought with it 145 branches. Two years later, Allahabad Bank established AllBank Finance Ltd, a wholly owned Merchant Banking subsidiary.

Its older logo, a monogram consisting of "A" and "B", was replaced by the current 'Triveni sangam' logo circa 1997.[9]

The government's ownership of Allahabad Bank shrank in October 2002 after the bank engaged in an initial public offering (IPO) of ₹100 million (US$1.4 million) of shares, each with a face value ₹ 10. The IPO reduced the Government's shareholding to 71.16%. Then in April 2005 the bank conducted a second public offering of ₹ 100  million of shares, each with a face value ₹ 10 and selling at a premium of ₹ 72. This offering reduced the Government's ownership to 55.23%.

In June 2006 the bank opened its first office outside India when it opened a representative office in Shenzen, Mainland China. In February 2007, Allahabad Bank opened its first overseas branch, in Hong Kong. In March, the bank's business crossed the ₹ 10 million mark.

On 30 August 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that Allahabad Bank would be merged with Indian Bank. The proposed merger would create the seventh largest public sector bank in the country with assets of ₹8.08 lakh crore (US$110 billion).[10][11] The Union Cabinet approved the merger on 4 March 2020. Indian Bank assumed control of Allahabad Bank on 1 April 2020.[12]

Allahabad Bank's equity shares are listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India.

Allahabad Bank Head Office at Kolkata

As on 31 March 2013, the bank had 22,557 employees, out of which 3,293 were women (15%).[5] Out of the total employees, 51% were officers, 30% were clerks and remaining 19% were subordinate staff.[5] The bank recruited 1,950 employees (1,421 Officers, 390 Clerks and 139 subordinate staff) during the same financial year.[5] The company incurred INR 20 billion on employee benefit expenses during the same financial year.[5]
Employee productivity: During the FY 2013–14, the business per employee was INR 13.50 crores and it earned a net profit of INR 4.77 lakhs per employee.[5]

The bank is now operating in the following States/UTs

On July 13, 2019, Allahabad Bank disclosed that it detected a fraud, worth ₹1,774.82 crore (US$249 million) by Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd (BPSL).[14]

The bank also detected another fraud of ₹688.27 crore (US$96 million) by SEL Manufacturing Ltd., a Ludhiana-based textile company on July 17, 2019.[15][16]

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• List of banks (alphabetical)
• List of banks in India
• Banking in India
• Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Allahabad Bank.

• Official website
• Internet Banking Portal