UCO Bank

Ghanshyam Das Birla, founder of UCO Bank

G. D. Birla, an eminent Indian industrialist, during the Quit India movement of 1942, conceived the idea of organising a commercial bank with Indian capital and management, and the United Commercial Bank Limited was incorporated to give shape to that idea. The bank was started with Kolkata as its head office with an issued capital of ₹2 crores and a paid-up capital of ₹1 crore. Birla was its chairman and the Board of Directors included eminent personalities of India drawn from many fields. The bank opened 14 branches simultaneously across India.

After World War II, United Commercial Bank opened several overseas branches. The first, in 1947, was in Rangoon. Branches in Singapore (1951), Hong Kong (March 1952), London (1953), and Malaysia followed. In 1963 the Burmese Government nationalized United Commercial Bank's three branches there, which became People's Bank No. 6.[4]

On 15 September 1967, Jalpaiguri Banking and Trading Corporation (JBTC) which had been established in Jalpaiguri in 1887 (or 1889; accounts differ), made a voluntary transfer of its assets and liabilities to United Commercial Bank. JBTC had only one office and specialised in lending against mortgages on tea gardens.

The Government of India nationalised United Commercial Bank on 19 July 1969. The nationalised bank continued the operations of the overseas branches in London, Singapore, and Hong Kong. However, Malaysian law forbade foreign government ownership of banks in Malaysia. Therefore, United Commercial, Indian Overseas Bank, and Indian Bank contributed their operations in Malaysia to a new joint-venture bank incorporated in Malaysia, United Asian Bank, with each of the three parent banks owning a third of the shares. At the time, Indian Bank had three branches, and Indian Overseas Bank and United Commercial Bank had eight between them.

An act of parliament changed the bank's name to UCO Bank in 1985, as a bank in Bangladesh existed with the name "United Commercial Bank", which caused confusion in the international banking arena.

In 1991, Bank of Commerce acquired United Asian Bank; in time CIMB came to own Bank of Commerce.

In 1998, UCO closed its London branch. Bank of Baroda acquired the assets and liabilities, but not the personnel, who were made redundant.

As on 31 March 2012, government share-holding in the bank was 84%. Branch expansion started at a fast pace, particularly in rural areas, and the bank achieved several unique distinctions in Priority Sector lending and other social uplift activities. To keep pace with the developing scenario and expansion of business, the Bank undertook an exercise in organisational restructuring in the year 1972. This resulted in more functional specialisation, decentralisation of administration and emphasis on development of personnel skill and attitude. Side by side, whole hearted commitment into the government's poverty alleviation programmes continued and the convenorship of State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) was entrusted on the Bank for Odisha and Himachal Pradesh in 1983.total numbers of branch more than 4,000.

The bank has requested the RBI for an approval for new Non-Banking entities under its command. The new entities would ensure a complete market foothold.[11]

• The logo of UCO bank consists of a pair of clasped hands covered with an octagonal structure. It has been coloured blue since the organisation's inception, blue representing the Bank's national responsibility. The background has remained yellow since the beginning as well.
• The motto UCO Bank is "Honours your Trust".[12]
• The UCO bank Logo has resemblance to logo of leading South African Life Insurance company Sanlam. Sanlam has tie up with Shriram Group in India who provide Insurance to passengers travelling in Indian Railways

UCO Bank's major competitors have always been State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Bank of India. The earlier years saw a limited presence of rivals who were mostly public sector entities. In the recent years, the surge of private banks has broadened the spectrum. The liberalisation of the economy may bring foreign banks, which could intensify inter-bank competition for commercial and well-to-do retail customers.[13]

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Citations

References

• Turnell, Sean (2009) Fiery Dragons: Banks, Moneylenders and Microfinance in Burma. (NAIS Press). ISBN 9788776940409

• Official website
• UCO Bank Products
• UCO Bank Stock Market Position Research