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Palai Central Bank was a commercial bank headquartered in Kerala, South India and that functioned during the middle of last century. Although it was started in a small remote town, the bank grew up to become not only the biggest bank but the biggest institution in Kerala, after the state government, and the 17th largest among the 94 scheduled banks in India. The Kerala High Court in 1960 ordered the liquidation of Palai Central Bank on a petition from the Reserve Bank of India.〔History of the Reseve Bank of India - Volumes I & II - Oxford University Press.〕 From the time of its founding in 1927 to its closure in 1960, Palai Central Bank had an eventful history. The bank's existence spanned the period preceding and immediately following India’s independence, when Kerala – a small State in the far south – could exert only very little influence in the nation’s capital. It was also a period when the need for protecting the interests of different segments of society was not a major consideration when policy decisions were taken by the Central Government. == Beginning == Joseph Augusti Kayalackakom founded The Central Bank Limited in (Pala), a small town in the central part of the then native state of Travancore, which later became part of Kerala. His uncle, Augusti Mathai Kayalackakom, provided the start up capital. Joseph Augusti, who belonged to a family of agriculturists and traders, had carried on some other businesses before going into banking. He had run textile business initially in Pala, and later on in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in 1910; he also established a bus service in Thiruvananthapuram from 1913 onwards.〔T K Velupillai - Travancore State Manual - Travancore Government Press - 1940.〕 The bank was incorporated under the Travancore Companies Regulation 1092 with the following persons as the initial Promoter-Directors:- * Chairman: Augusti Mathai Kayalackakom * Mg. Director: Joseph Augusti Kayalackakom * Directors: Outha Ouseph Thottumkal, Varkey Ouseph Vellookunnel, Cheriyathu Thommen Menamparambil, George Joseph Kottukappallil and Jacob Cherian Maruthukunnel The bank was on a growth track right from the beginning. Its style of functioning was quite different from the other banks of the day. It was more of 'mass banking' than the 'class banking' practised by other banks of those days. This was a welcome change for the people who, for their needs, had largely depended on small moneylenders, most of whom were from Kalladaikurichi in Tamil Nadu. The Tamilians were charging exorbitant rates of interest on loans. In 1929, when the Great Depression struck and Travancore's plantation sector was badly hit, the bank gave liberal assistance to the plantations. The bank, which later changed its name to Palai Central Bank, started expanding its activities by opening branches at several places. When the Bank opened a branch in New Delhi, India's new capital city in 1932, it was the very first bank to do so, ahead of even the established north-Indian banks. The Bank also discovered the potential of Aluva (Alwaye) by opening a branch there, years before Aluva became a major industrial town.〔A Sreedhara Menon - A Survey of Kerala History - D C Books - 2008.〕 In 1935, the bank introduced electricity in its head office building in Pala by installing oil-powered generator, years before Government's first power project was commissioned at Pallivasal and electricity became common. The bank was also a pioneer in introducing modern advertising, which was quite different from the staid advertisements of other banks of the day.〔K M Joseph - Pala Innale Innu (Yesterday and Today' in Malayalam ) - Deepanalam Press - 1981.〕 Employees – both executives and staff – were trained to project the bank's motto of customer service. A young boy coming to deposit the scholarship amount he got received the same service that large depositors enjoyed. It was, therefore, natural that years later, when the bright youngster became District Collector, he still regarded the bank as 'his' bank. The bank’s branch managers followed an 'open door' policy making them accessible to everyone. This was in sharp contrast with their counterparts of the Imperial Bank of India, who were totally unapproachable to the common man. The bank's managers, KM Joseph and later KM Augustine in Thiruvananthapuram, George Joseph in Chennai (Madras), KM Chacko in Nagercoil, C J Thomas in Delhi and others enjoyed exceptional popularity and influence. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Palai Central Bank」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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