Karnataka Bank - History

History

The Karnataka Bank was incorporated on February 18, 1924, as the Karnataka Bank Limited and commenced business on May 23, 1924. Its founders established it at Mangalore, a coastal town in the Dakshina Kannada district of Madras Presidency. Among the founders, who created the bank to serve the South Kanara region was B. R. Vysaray Achar. Another important personality associated with the bank was K. S. N. Adiga, who served as Chairman from 1958 to 1979.

• 1960: Karnataka Bank acquired the Sringeri Sharada Bank, which was established in 1942 which had four branches.
• 1964: Karnataka Bank took over the assets and liabilities of the Chitradurga Bank (also known as Chitladurg Bank), which was established in 1868 in Mysore State and was the oldest bank in Mysore.
• 1966: Karnataka Bank took over the assets and liabilities of the Bank of Karnataka, in Hubli. Bank of Karnataka was established in 1946 and had opened one branch in Belgaum in 1947. At the time of the acquisition, Bank of Karnataka had 13 branches.

In 2000, Karnataka Bank signed a memorandum of understanding with Infosys Technologies to develop a core-banking solution called FINACLE. Over 221 branches were networked up to March 31, 2004. The main motto of this programme is "Anytime/Anywhere banking". In 2002, the bank concluded a pact with Corporation Bank for sharing its ATMs. A year later, the bank introduced the Moneyplant card that allows customers to withdraw money from any of their Karnataka bank accounts.

In September 2003, the bank shifted its head office from Kodialbail to Kankanady.