Fadnavis expressed happiness over a Mumbai-born bank completing a hundred years in the service of the Nation. He said that Maharashtra has emerged as a leader in entrepreneurship, with his government enabling an ecosystem for business and enterprises. He emphasised the fintech phenomenon as being a game changer for financial intermediation in economy.

Welcoming the dignitaries, Rajkiran Rai G., MD & CEO, Union Bank of India, expressed his gratitude to all stakeholders, especially the 70 million customers, who stood with the bank through thick and thin in its century-long journey. He emphasised that the Union Bank is ready for the future, with investment in people, product and technology.

India Post released a stamp to commemorate the Centenary Year of Union Bank of India. A coffee table book, A Century of Trust was released by Fadnavis too. Also, on the occasion, Union Bank of India launched two new variants of Cards – a combo card (debit & credit) and Rupay contactless card (debit & prepaid); a new single app for mobile banking facility (U Mobile); a new web & tab enabled module for credit growth in the MSME sector – Union Mudra and environment friendly, energy efficient & limited carbon footprint Green Data Centre.

Such a long journey

At the time of India’s independence in 1947, Union Bank of India had four branches – three in Mumbai and one in Saurashtra. When the government of India nationalised it in 1969, it had 240 branches. Shortly after nationalisation, Union Bank of India acquired Belgaum Bank, a private sector bank established in 1930 that had itself merged with the Shri Jadeya Shankarling Bank (Bijapur; incorporated on 10 May 1948) in 1964. Then, in 1985, Union Bank of India acquired Miraj State Bank, which was established in 1929, and had 26 branches. In 1999, the Reserve Bank of India requested that the Union Bank acquire Sikkim Bank in a rescue after extensive irregularities had been discovered at the non-scheduled bank.

Union Bank expanded internationally in 2007, with the opening of offices in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Shanghai in the People’s Republic of China. The next year, Union Bank established a branch in Hong Kong, its first branch outside India. In 2009, it opened a representative office in Sydney, Australia.

The bank now operates through over 4,200 branches across the country. It has a team of over 36,000 members of staff to serve 70 million customers.  Currently, it has total assets of Rs4,91,146 crore

 (This article is reproduced from Business India Magazine. It first appeared in our issue dated November 19-December 2, 2018)