Oriental Bank of Commerce
Encyclopedia
Oriental Bank of Commerce is an India-based bank in Lahore
(then a city of British India
, and currently in Pakistan
), is one of the public sector
banks in India
. The Company operates in four segments: treasury operations, corporate/wholesale banking, retail banking and other banking business operations.
, the then Chairman of the Bank, in a unique gesture honoured the commitments made to the depositors from Pakistan and paid every rupee to its departing customers.
The Bank has witnessed many ups and downs since its establishment. The period of 1970-76 is said to be the most challenging phase in the history of the Bank. At one time profit plummeted to Rs.175, that prompted the owner of the bank, the Thapar House, to sell / close the bank. Then employees and leaders of the Bank came forward to rescue the Bank. The owners were moved and had to change their decision of selling the bank and in turn they decided to improve the position of the bank with the active cooperation and support of all the employees. Their efforts bore fruits and performance of the bank improved significantly. This was the turning point in the history of the bank.
The bank was nationalized on 15th April, 1980. At that time total working of the bank was Rs.483 crores having 19th position among the 20 nationalised banks. Within a decade the bank turned into one of the most efficient and best performing banks of India.
The bank has progressed on several fronts crossing the Business Mix mark of Rs 2 lacs crores as on 31st March 2010 making it the seventh largest Public Sector Bank in India, achievement of 100% CBS, reorienting of lending strategy through Large & Mid Corporates and establishment of new wings viz., Rural Development and Retail & Priority Sector. The Bank has to its utmost credit lowest staff cost with highest productivity in the Indian banking industry.
Sl No Name Period
The Bank has launched yet another people's participation in the planning process at grass root level essentially to tackle the maladies of poverty. The Grameen Projects venture aims to alleviate poverty plus identify the reasons responsible for the failure or success.
OBC is already implementing a GRAMEEN PROJECT in Dehradun District
(UP) and Hanumangarh District
(Rajasthan). Formulated on the pattern of the Bangladesh Grameen Bank, the Scheme has a unique feature of disbursing small loans ranging from Rs. 75 (US $2) onwards. The beneficiaries of the Grameen Project are mostly women.The Bank is engaged in providing training to rural folk in using locally available raw material to produce pickles, jams etc. This has provided self-employment and augmented income levels thus reforming lives of rural folk and encouraging cottage industries in rural areas.
OBC launched yet another unique scheme christened 'The Comprehensive Village Development Programme' on the auspicious day of Baisakhi, the 13th of April 1997 at three villages in Punjab namely Rurki Kalan (Distt. Sangrur), Raje Majra (Distt. Ropar) and Khaira Majha (Distt. Jaladhar) and two villages in Haryana, namely Khunga (Distt. Jind) and Narwal (Distt. Kaithal). The pilot launch was a great success. Emboldened by the success, Bank extended the programme to more villages. At present, it covers 15 villages; 10 in Punjab, 4 in Haryana and 1 in Rajasthan. The programme focuses on providing a comprehensive and integrated package providing rural finance to the villagers with Village Development as its focus, thus contributing towards infrastructural development and augmentation of income for each farmer of the village. The Bank has implemented 14 point action plan for strengthening of credit delivery to women and has designated 5 branches as specialized branches for women entrepreneurs.
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
(then a city of British India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, and currently in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
), is one of the public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
banks in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The Company operates in four segments: treasury operations, corporate/wholesale banking, retail banking and other banking business operations.
History
Oriental Bank of Commerce made a beginning under its Founding Father, Late Rai Bahadur Lala Sohan Lal, the first Chairman of the Bank. Within four years of coming into existence, the Bank had to face partition. Branches in the newly formed Pakistan had to be closed down and the Registered Office had to be shifted from Lahore to Amritsar. Late lala Karam Chand ThaparKaram Chand Thapar
Karam Chand Thapar was the founder of the Thapar Group of companies.He was originally from Punjab. He started his career in 1920 as a coal trader in Calcutta, and built up the family fortune through . He then started JCT Limited that is into textiles as well as molasses and alcohol...
, the then Chairman of the Bank, in a unique gesture honoured the commitments made to the depositors from Pakistan and paid every rupee to its departing customers.
The Bank has witnessed many ups and downs since its establishment. The period of 1970-76 is said to be the most challenging phase in the history of the Bank. At one time profit plummeted to Rs.175, that prompted the owner of the bank, the Thapar House, to sell / close the bank. Then employees and leaders of the Bank came forward to rescue the Bank. The owners were moved and had to change their decision of selling the bank and in turn they decided to improve the position of the bank with the active cooperation and support of all the employees. Their efforts bore fruits and performance of the bank improved significantly. This was the turning point in the history of the bank.
The bank was nationalized on 15th April, 1980. At that time total working of the bank was Rs.483 crores having 19th position among the 20 nationalised banks. Within a decade the bank turned into one of the most efficient and best performing banks of India.
The bank has progressed on several fronts crossing the Business Mix mark of Rs 2 lacs crores as on 31st March 2010 making it the seventh largest Public Sector Bank in India, achievement of 100% CBS, reorienting of lending strategy through Large & Mid Corporates and establishment of new wings viz., Rural Development and Retail & Priority Sector. The Bank has to its utmost credit lowest staff cost with highest productivity in the Indian banking industry.
Chairpersons
The Chairpersons (CMD)of the banks were as under:Sl No Name Period
- Karam Chand ThaparKaram Chand ThaparKaram Chand Thapar was the founder of the Thapar Group of companies.He was originally from Punjab. He started his career in 1920 as a coal trader in Calcutta, and built up the family fortune through . He then started JCT Limited that is into textiles as well as molasses and alcohol...
1946 to 1961 - L. M. ThaparL. M. ThaparLalit Mohan Thapar , often referred to by his initials LMT, headed the LM Thapar Group of companies. He was born to Karam Chand Thapar, the founder of the Thapar Group of companies that owned industrial powerhouses such as Crompton Greaves, BILT and JCT Mills. Inder Mohan Thapar, Brij Mohan Thapar...
1961 to 1969 - R. P. Oberoi 1973 to 1976
- M. K. Vig 1976 to 1983
- P. S. Gopalakrishnan1984 to 1988
- S. P. Talwar 1988 to 1990
- S. K. Soni 1990 to 1996
- Dalbir Singh 1996 to 2000
- B. D. Narang 2000 to 2005
- K. N. Prithviraj 2005 to 2007
- Alok Kumar Misra 2007 to 04/08/2009
- T. Y. Prabhu 2009 to jan 2011
- Nagesh Paidah jan 2011 onwards
Overview
The bank offers features such as internet banking, phone banking NRI banking etc. However, it does not allow online banking access from outside India.The Bank has launched yet another people's participation in the planning process at grass root level essentially to tackle the maladies of poverty. The Grameen Projects venture aims to alleviate poverty plus identify the reasons responsible for the failure or success.
OBC is already implementing a GRAMEEN PROJECT in Dehradun District
Dehradun district
There are five railway stations in Dehradun:* Raiwala* Rishikesh* Doiwala* Harrawala* DehradunAirport...
(UP) and Hanumangarh District
Hanumangarh district
Hanumangarh District is a district of Rajasthan state of western India. The town of Hanumangarh is the district headquarters.-District profile:...
(Rajasthan). Formulated on the pattern of the Bangladesh Grameen Bank, the Scheme has a unique feature of disbursing small loans ranging from Rs. 75 (US $2) onwards. The beneficiaries of the Grameen Project are mostly women.The Bank is engaged in providing training to rural folk in using locally available raw material to produce pickles, jams etc. This has provided self-employment and augmented income levels thus reforming lives of rural folk and encouraging cottage industries in rural areas.
OBC launched yet another unique scheme christened 'The Comprehensive Village Development Programme' on the auspicious day of Baisakhi, the 13th of April 1997 at three villages in Punjab namely Rurki Kalan (Distt. Sangrur), Raje Majra (Distt. Ropar) and Khaira Majha (Distt. Jaladhar) and two villages in Haryana, namely Khunga (Distt. Jind) and Narwal (Distt. Kaithal). The pilot launch was a great success. Emboldened by the success, Bank extended the programme to more villages. At present, it covers 15 villages; 10 in Punjab, 4 in Haryana and 1 in Rajasthan. The programme focuses on providing a comprehensive and integrated package providing rural finance to the villagers with Village Development as its focus, thus contributing towards infrastructural development and augmentation of income for each farmer of the village. The Bank has implemented 14 point action plan for strengthening of credit delivery to women and has designated 5 branches as specialized branches for women entrepreneurs.
Amalgamation with Global Trust Bank
On 14 August 2004, Global Trust Bank Limited (GTB) was amalgamated into OBC. GTB was a leading private sector bank in India that was associated with various financial discrepancies leading to a moratorium being imposed by RBI shortly before being merged into OBC.See also
- Banking in IndiaBanking in IndiaBanking in India originated in the last decades of the 18th century. The first banks were The General Bank of India, which started in 1786, and Bank of Hindustan, which started in 1790; both are now defunct. The oldest bank in existence in India is the State Bank of India, which originated in the...
- All India Oriental Bank Officers Association
- List of Cooperative Banks in India