KARUR   VYSYA   BANK  --CENTENARY

                                                           

                                               

An Unbeaten Century—Chronicling  A 100 Years of the Karur Vysya Bank by Sriram.V ; Pages 186 ; Published by the Bank.

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 We have the impressive history of the State Bank of India by Prof.Amiya Bagchi, the history of the Punjab National Bank by P.C.Tandon and the biography of Canara Bank by M.V.Kamath. There is a slim volume on Indian Bank by R.K.Seshadri.  Recently, Bank of India –First Hundred Years—was brought out by Abhik Ray. However, there was so far no history of a Private Sector bank. This gap has been filled by Sriram’s book on the Karur Vysya Bank .

The Karur Vysya Bank Limited, popularly known as KVB,  was set up on  25^th July 1916 by two great visionaries and illustrious sons of Karur, the Late Shri M A Venkatarama Chettiar and the Late Shri Athi Krishna Chettiar  to capitalise on the previously unexploited market of traders and agriculturists  and  inculcate the habit of savings and provide financial assistance to traders and small agriculturists in and around Karur, a textile town in Tamil Nadu. 

                                     

     Athi Venkatarama Chettiar                         Athi  Krishna Chettiar

  

    Commercial banking in India can boast of a history of about 200 years. Though one could trace the history of banking back to the 19th century, the beginning of the last century saw the birth of many banks in India, set up by people with vision, commitment and national spirit.

Though the KVB  started with a seed capital of Rs.1 lakh, it has withstood innumerable changes and challenges in the past ten decades and has  emerged as one of the leading banks in India .

The bank is professionally managed and guided by the Board of Directors drawn from different fields with vision, experience, knowledge and business acumen.

 Shedding its inherent regional flavour, the bank has now spread its wings far and wide with over 760 branches in 20 States and 3 Union Territories   and gained a pan India presence. The bank has been conducting its affairs meticulously to conform to all the prudential norms and exacting statutory regulations.

KVB has consistently maintained strong fundamentals with a higher percentage of Capital Adequacy Ratio than mandated by the RBI. KVB has also been generating profits and rewarding its stakeholders with handsome dividends since inception.

 The bank primarily operates in treasury, corporate/wholesale banking and retail banking segments. KVB provides services such as personal, corporate, agricultural banking and services to NRIs and MSME. Under personal banking, the bank provides housing loan, personal loan; insurance; and fixed deposits among others. Under corporate banking, KVB provides services like corporate loans; demat account, multi-city current account and general insurance among others.

   KVB has also been generating profits and rewarding its stakeholders with handsome dividends since inception.

“The Banking Regulation Act  came into force only in 1949, but in 1916 itself the Founders of the bank were careful enough to incorporate a clause preventing Directors from taking loans from the bank. It was only 33 years later such a clause was put into the statute”. Employees stock option was a norm at KVB  from inception.

At the time the bank turned 25 years its financial parameters had become impressive. The paid-up-capital had grown from Rs 1.28 lakhs in 1924 to Rs 1.35 lakhs in 1941. The reserves had grown from Rs 5751 to Rs.1.61,000; the deposits from Rs 52,401 to Rs 24,26,594 and the turnover from Rs2,06,000 to Rs.28,24,803. The shareholders received a dividend of 12 %.

The KVB was functioning so well between 1963 and 1964 that it was asked to take over four small entities—the Selva Vriddhi Bank, Coimbatore, the Salem Sri Kanyaka Paramesari Bank, the Padinen Grama Arya Vysya Bank and the  Coimbatore Bhagyalakshmi bank.

KVB  was widening its network through a system of agency agreements at Bangalore, Bombay, Cochin, Calicut, Kanchipuram, Delhi , Ludhiana, Palghat, Tuticorin and Tirunelveli with banks that had a presence in those cities. What was essentially a Madras-based bank struck roots in distant Punjab, Maharashtra and the capital of the country.

In 1965 the bank had its Golden Jubilee. An event of importance is the assumption of office of a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer by Shri.G.S.Annaswamy,a retiring RBI Official. The President and the Vice-President relinquished their positions .

KVB grew exponentially and gained enormous stature as a bank in the late 80s and the 1990s—thanks chiefly to its treasury management and merchant banking.

Mention must  and has been  made in the book  of the tenure of Shri.A.D.Navaneethan under whose Chairmanship the bank’s business took a quantum leap by 455 per cent, up from Rs.1190 crores when he took charge in 1993 to over Rs 6.600 crores when he relinquished office. Forty three branches were added during his time.

There is an affectionate tribute to a mentor of KVB –Shri.A.S.Janarthanan known as ASJ. He was a towering personality with immense interest in social developments and service. For him KVB  was the primary purpose of his life. Associated with KVB  for fifty years, KVB  and ASJ  became synonymous.

The bank has over 766 branches , nearly 50 Cash Recycling Machines  and 1771 ATMs spread across 20 States and 3 Union Territories. The bank recorded a total business of Rs.95,135 crores , with a deposit of Rs. 53,700 crores and advances of Rs 41,435 crores.

KVB  was an early bird to computerize its operations followed by implementation of Core banking business. The bank has amassed several awards—to mention a few—the Bloomsberg  UTI—Business World—Business Today—IDBRT awards .

Sriram  the author is an accomplished chronicler of the history of Chennai and an authority on Carnatic music.. He  has written an excellent account of the achievements of a Bank which  is 100 years young. He had dovetailed this with developments in the Indian banking industry during the same period. The volume is a  well produced  Coffee Table book with lavish portraits.

P.P.Ramachandran.

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31/12/2017

Tit Bits

My link with KVB began with my being posted as  DGM of DBOD  in charge of appointments of Chief Executives of banks. I still recall the halcyon days when Shri.A.D.Navaneethan was appointed as Chief Executive Officer—a position he held with distinction for eight long years.  A number of directors of KVB like Shri.A.S.Janarthanan called on me to finalise appointment of chief executive. I have rarely encountered such an enlightened board. Highly knowledgeable, richly experienced in all the nuances of banking—they have kept the flag of KVB flying high.

PPR

31/12/2017