State Bank of Mysore, Bengaluru - a legacy of Maharajah, Krishna Wodeyar IV

State Bank of Mysore Bengaluru. indianexpress.com

State Bank of Mysore,Bengaluru. indianexpress.com

Above image: The first branch of the Mysore bank was opened in Bengaluru in 1913. The Wodeyar royal family and his Dewan Sir. M. Visvesvaraya introduced the banking operations in this land as part of industrialization of the state. The local bank helped the natives a lot to meet their needs. The Mysore Bank Circle gets its name from the fact that it was the location of one of the first banks in Bengaluru; Now it is merged with the SBI......

State Bank of Mysore,Bengaluru. indianexpress.com

Like many princely states like Travancore, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, etc., in the colonial India the growth of banking sector in Mysore kingdom (now part of Karnataka) played a key role. Thanks to the VI visionaries the royal family of Wodeyar and his Diwan Sir M. Visvesvaraya. who put the banking operation on a strong footing.

The then erstwhile ruler of Mysore kingdom Maharajah, Krishnarajendra Wodeyar IV, started in 1912 State Bank of Mysore in Mysore city on the advice of Dewan Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The ruler, being progressive and forward looking gave his patronage and the branch office was opened in Bangalore in the following year for the benefit of common people. Then called Bank of Mysore Limited, the name of the location the Mysore Bank Circle got its name from the first bank that came up in that area. Sir KP Puttanna Chetty was the Chairman of the bank. By 1938 the Bank had became popular and 20 branches came up at operating at various places.

During 1953, "Mysore Bank" was appointed as an agent of Reserve Bank of India to undertake Government business and treasury operations, and on March 1, 1960 the bank became an associate bank of State Bank of India (banking Act 1959) and renamed State Bank of Mysuru. Now the bank is an Associate Bank under the State Bank Group and the State Bank of India holds 92.33% of shares that were listed in Bangalore, Chennai, and Mumbai stock exchanges.

The banking operations and credit facilities are good for rapid industrialization in the kingdom and Dewan (Prime Minister) Sir M. Visvesvaraya impressed on the ruler to start a state-aided banking enterprise to encourage the locals to start business here. Initially in 1913 the bank was operating in the Chamrajpet area of the Old City, then a commercial hub. The present impressive old building came up in 1923 and soon the bank started functioning there. A historical fact is the building was constructed on a site that was a lunatic asylum before.

An important land mark of the city, the Mysore Bank circle bears testimony to many protests and freedom struggle activities in the past. With the progress of the city and increasing vehicular traffic in the 2000s public protests in that location declined and shifted 1 km from here to the Freedom Park - the site of the former central prison of Bengaluru; now, it is a venue of public protests.

The large main arcaded hall of the Mysore Bank building, now well-lit has all the modern facilities. In the past in the 1990s it used to have dull looking interior and there was a small museum called Nenapu or Memories which documented the history of the bank.

The merger of State Bank of Mysore with the SBI took place despite protests by more than 10000 employees in April 2017. The old SBM building in Bengaluru may stand as a legacy of bank's earliest growth in the city but its past history is frozen and relegated to the back stage. If one wants to know about the heritage of Bengaluru, a fine book 'Discovering Bengalore by Ms. Meera Iyer, the convener of the Bengaluru chapter of the INTACH will be useful

SBM, Bengaluru, newsable.asianetnews.com

Above image: Being a devout Hindu, the Mysore ruler had a marble statue of Lakshmi made in Jaipur and installed in the façade of the building bank as the Goddess stands for wealth and prosperity. With a humble beginning in 1913 the bank got a name and had 1,074 branches - over a period of 104 years to meet the customers' needs. By 2014, SBM had 772 branches (79%) in Karnataka State. The bank has regional many regional offices Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and in major cities in other states. In 2013-14 alone, the bank's turnover was about US$19 Billion and Profit about US$46 Million.

State bank of Mysore, Bengaluru.exclusivecoins.blogspot.com

Above image: ''The Special Cover issued by the Karnataka Postal Circle, Bengaluru of India Post. It shows on the Front left side a picture of the Heritage Building of The Bank of Mysore Ltd. Head Office -1913. On the top are portraits of “H. H. Shri Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar – Patron” and “Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya – Founder” The Rs.5/- stamp is of Bombay Stock Exchange issued in 2016 –The Cancellation Stamp is inscribed “State Bank of Mysore” (in Hindi & English) on the periphery together with “Service to the Nation since 1913.