The vibrant banking sector in Tamil Nadu has played a vital role in the development of the State’s economy Home-grown banks in the public as well as private sectors, with over 100 years of unique history, have made key contributions.
The idea of forming one of the home-grown banks, the Indian Bank, emerged from a major financial crisis in 1906, which led to the collapse of the Arbuthnot & Co. Krishnaswami Iyer, the lawyer who successfully handled the Arbuthnot bankruptcy case, came up with the idea of starting an indigenous venture for banking services. He founded Indian Bank and requested Annamalai and Ramasamy Chettiar to mobilise deposits. The bank was incorporated on March 5, 1907, with an authorised capital of ₹20 lakh and commenced its business on August 15, 1907.
Indian Overseas Bank was founded on February 10, 1937, by Chidambaram Chettyar with the main objective of specialising in foreign exchange business. The bank started business simultaneously at Karaikudi, Chennai and Rangoon in Burma (now Myanmar), followed by a branch in Penang, Malaysia.
