Why in news?
Come April 1, it will be curtains for Andhra Bank as one of the oldest and well-known household names in the region gets amalgamated with Union Bank of India.
Details
- A part of the Central government plan to create four larger banks by merging 10, the move will see Andhra Bank over time coming to be identified as Union Bank of India.
- Under the present plan of the Centre, four sets of merger will come into force on 1st April 2020.
- One of them will see Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank amalgamating into Union Bank of India.
- The combined entity will be the 5th largest public sector bank and will have the 4th largest branch network of any bank in India, Union Bank of India said.
The consolidation of 10 PSBs into four includes the merger of:
- Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India into Punjab National Bank.
- The amalgamation of Syndicate Bank into Canara Bank.
- The merger of Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank into Union Bank of India, and
- The amalgamation of Allahabad Bank into Indian Bank.
History of Andhra Bank and its founder
- Andhra Bank was founded by freedom fighter Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya and commenced business on November 28, 1923 in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, with a paid up capital of ₹ 1 lakh and an authorised capital of ₹10 lakh by Raja Yarlagadda Sivarama Prasad.
- Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya was an Indian independence activist and political leader in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
- He started his practice as a doctor in the coastal town of Machilipatnam, headquarters of Krishna District and the political centre of Andhra.
- He left his lucrative practice to join the freedom fighting movement.
- During the years 1912–13, when there was a great controversy over the desirability of forming a separate province for Andhra, he wrote a number of articles in “The Hindu” and other journals explaining the need for immediate formation of linguistic provinces.
