Andhra Bank set to slip into history

Hyderabad: With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing mega merger of public sector banks (PSBs), city-based Andhra Bank, which was established nearly 95 years ago, is all set to slip into history.

The bank along with Corporation Bank, will be merged with Union Bank of India which will emerge as fifth largest bank with Rs 14.59 lakh crore in annual business.

Established on November 20, 1923 by Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya, an ardent freedom fighter at Machilipatnam, a port town in coastal Andhra Pradesh, the bank has a historical and patriotic background.

The premier bank was started with a paid-up capital of Rs 1 lakh and an authorised capital of Rs 10 lakh.

In 1956, linguistic division of States was promulgated, and Hyderabad was made the capital of Andhra Pradesh. The registered office of the bank was subsequently shifted to Andhra Bank Buildings, Sultan Bazar, Hyderabad.

Its current head office is in Saifabad in the city. When the second phase of nationalisation of commercial banks commenced in April 1980, the bank became a wholly owned Government bank.

In 1964, the bank absorbed Bharat Lakshmi Bank and further consolidated its position in Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Bank has gone global by opening a representative office in Dubai in May 2006 and another at Jersey City, New Jersey, in June 2009.

Andhra Bank's total business stood at Rs 3.98 lakh crore last fiscal. It has 20,346 employees.