The Federal Bank Limited is a major private sector commercial bank headquartered at Aluva, Kochi, Kerala. As on 31 March 2016, Federal Bank has 1252 branches and 1680 ATMs across the country. Its balance-sheet stood at Rs. 1.37 trillion as of end March 2016 and its Net Profit stood at Rs. 475 crore for the fiscal year.
History
The history of Federal Bank dates back to the pre-independence era. On 7 April 1931 at Pattamukkil Varattisseril Tharavad, the Pattamukkil Varattisseril Brothers gathered together to discuss the necessary steps to be taken to form a bank.
The Federal Bank Limited (the erstwhile Travancore Federal Bank Limited) was incorporated with an authorised capital of ₹5000 from Pattamukkil Varattisseril Brother’s at Pattamukkil Varattisseril Ancestral Home, Nedumpuram a place near Thiruvalla in Central Travancore on 28 April 1931 under the Travancore Company's Act, 1916. It started with the business of auction-chitty and elementary banking transactions related to agriculture and industry. The home functioned as the bank office for nearly 15 years.
The founders included Pattamukkil Varattisseril Oommen Geevarghese, and his brothers Oommen Chacko, Oommen Kurian, and Oommen George. Oommen Geevarghese was the founder chairman and Oommen Chacko was the managing director. The Travancore Agriculturists' Relief Act, 1939, and the limitation of interest by the Travancore Debt Relief Act, 1941 greatly influenced the smooth functioning of bank. The terms and conditions of this particular act was supportive to the farmers and it was totally against the interest of the banks and auction-chitty operators of that time. After the bank had functioned for nearly 15 years, the bank's day-to-day operations had to be stopped due to Oommen Chacko's ill-health.
A lawyer from Perumbavoor named Kulangara Paulo Hormis (K. P. Hormis), and his acquaintances, bought the shares and took over the management on 30 December 1944 and till 18 May 1945 Travancore Federal Bank Limited functioned at Nedumpuram under his chairmanship.
The bank's name was shortened from Travancore Federal Bank Limited to Federal Bank Limited on 2 December 1949, after completing the formalities of Banking Regulation Act, 1949
Between 1963 and 1970, Federal Bank took over Chalakudy Public Bank (est. 20 July 1929 in Chalakudy), Cochin Union Bank (est. 1963) in Trichur, Alleppey Bank (est 1964; Alappuzha), St. George Union Bank (est. 1965) in Puthenpally, and Marthandam Commercial Bank (est. 1968) in Thiruvananthapuram. In 1970, Federal Bank became a scheduled commercial bank and came out with its initial public offering in 1994.
In January 2008, Federal Bank opened its first overseas representative office in Abu Dhabi.
In April 2015, Federal Bank posted its highest ever net profit at Rs 1005.75 crore for the fiscal 2014-15. The net profit grew 20% during the year which saw the deposits and advances of the bank outgrow that of the industry by 40%.
In November 2016, Federal Bank opened its second UAE representative office in Dubai as part of a strategy to expand footprints in the Persian Gulf region to serve its fast growing overseas clients.
Digital banking
In August 2013, Federal Bank introduced FedBook, the first electronic passbook launched by any bank in India. FedBook is a mobile app through which customers can view their passbook details.
In May 2015, Federal Bank and SBI Card launched Federal Bank-SBI two co-branded Visa credit cards, namely Platinum and Gold ‘N More. The Federal Bank SBI Platinum Credit Card will offer distinct and exclusive benefits to customers, especially for fuel payments, dining etc. The platinum variant will offer a credit limit up to Rs.5 lakh and the gold variant up to Rs.1.75 lakh. The platinum variant of Federal Bank-SBI Credit Card offers reward points for every use at dining, departmental and international stores. International airport lounge access and golf course access are the other attractive options for it.
In July 2015, Federal Bank introduced automated chat facility, a first of its kind by an Indian bank. Customer wanting to check the bank’s products and services can now visit its website and chat with its Virtual Relationship Officer/Agent. The virtual agent generates personalised responses to customer queries.
In August 2015, creating history, Federal Bank launched India’s first Mobile App for Bank Account Opening. Bank has introduced this unique facility of Mobile based Bank Account Opening as an upgrade to FedBook, its e-Passbook App. With the new avatar of FedBook, anyone having an Aadhaar Card and PAN Card, can open a Savings Bank Account and get their Account Number instantly using a mobile from anywhere. Further, the account can also be funded with an initial remittance through online fund transfer up to a maximum amount of Rs. 10000.
To open an account, one has to just download FedBook in their Mobile and follow 3 easy steps- that of taking a selfie, scanning Aadhaar and PAN Card. The App verifies the Aadhaar real time and opens the account on the click of a button. Once the account is opened, the App turns itself into the digital passbook for the customer. The App is currently available on Android and iOS phones and will soon be available in Windows and BlackBerry phones.
In August 2016, Federal Bank launched Lotza, the Unified Payment Interface app which promises significantly smoother payment experience for its users. Federal Bank is one of the first Banks to be given the permission to launch the app in the first phase. Built on the concept ‘Accounts of different Banks on one App’, Lotza offers seamless and secure financial transaction capability between accounts of different Banks through a single App. Memorizing account numbers and keying them in for every transaction will now become a thing of the past as Lotza operates on the basis of virtual IDs which can be shared with beneficiaries without the risk of revealing the account numbers as such to them.
Launchpad
In April 2016, Federal Bank opened 'Launchpad', exclusive outlets for startups. ‘Launchpad’ is a one stop facility providing a range of advisory services in addition to customized banking offerings to budding entrepreneurs who wish to set up start-up ventures in diverse sectors like Digital Financial Services, Biotechnology, Hi-Tech Farming, Healthcare, Logistics, e-Commerce/e-Markets etc. The initiative is in alignment with the Start-Up India initiatives of the Government of India. These outlets offer counselling and guidance on key aspects involved in setting up of start-ups like registration, regulatory compliances, investments and accounting, Intellectual Property Protection, trading and taxation. ‘Launchpad’ will also provide customized banking offerings for Start-up ventures to run their business seamlessly which includes exclusive Startup Account, digitally powered Payroll accounts, payment/collection solutions and Forex services, apart from facilitating space and required infrastructure to needy startups to incubate their ideas. Federal Bank is one of the very few banks to have created a Corpus exclusively for investment in Start-ups.
Sponsorships
Federal Bank was the principal sponsor of Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The tickets for home matches were sold through Federal bank branches and their website. Federal Bank sponsored the Micromax ODI Cricket Series 2012 played between India and Sri Lanka in July
CSR Activities
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in Federal Bank began with the first act of cultivating banking habits in an agrarian society - to utilize idle money for productive purposes. Creating employment opportunity for a predominantly farming community was phase two. The bank approved a Sustainable Development Policy, which ensures that Bank's activities are conducive to sustainable social welfare. In addition to this, Bank has to directly participate in social activities to help the development of specific areas/segments.
Present activities of the Bank in the area of Education include:
- Distribution of scholarships every year to the poor students of following disciplines, through FedBank Hormis Memorial Foundation: Medicine, Engineering, Business Management, B.Sc. Nursing and B.Sc. Agriculture.
- Training / counseling / development centres for the benefit of various sectors especially small farmers and people engaged in small/cottage/tiny industries.
- Conducting National level Essay competitions
Present activities of the Bank in the area of Health care involve:
- Sponsoring rehabilitation centres for HIV patients and Cancer patients
- Sponsoring trauma care units including ambulances, counseling centres, Dialysis centres
- Sponsoring Old Age Homes, Alzheimer's/Dementia care centres etc.
- Partnering with Public Health Services to provide amenities in large Government Hospitals to help the poor.
Board of directors
Current Board of Directors are :
- Mr. K. M. Chandrasekhar - Part Time Chairman
- Mr. Shyam Srinivasan - Managing Director & CEO
- Mr. Nilesh Shivji Vikamsey - Director
- Mr. C Balagopal - Director
- Mr. Dilip Gena Sadarangani - Director
- Mr. Harish H Engineer - Director
- Smt. Grace Elizabeth Koshie - Director
- Smt. Shubhalakshmi Panse - Director
- Mr. Ashutosh Khajuria - Executive Director
- Mr. Ganesh Sankaran - Executive Director
Awards
- Federal Bank won the Best Performed Old Private Sector Bank in Kerala for the year 2015-16
- Federal Bank won the MasterCard Innovation Awards 2016 under the categories ‘Debit Cards Initiatives' and ‘Acquiring Business Initiatives'.
- Federal Bank received the prestigious 6th Annual Greentech HR Award for "Technology Excellence in HR".
- Federal Bank gets ET Best Corporate Brand 2016 Award
- Federal Bank bags IDRBT Award for Digital Banking, Analytics and Big Data in mid-sized Banks Segment
- Federal Bank wins the Skoch Smart Technology Award 2015 for FedBook Selfie
References
External links
- Official Site of the bank
- HORMISÂ : Legend of a Great Banker with Passion for Development, Biography of K.P. Hormis by K.P Joseph Kalarickal
- IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Awards
- IBA Awards for Innovation in Banking 2013 - Indian Banking
- http://www.federalbank.co.in/-/milestones-main-content
- www.topnews.in/companies/federal-bank
- https://www.nseindia.com/content/corporate/eq_FEDERALBNK_base.pdf
- http://www.federalbank.co.in/documents/10180/8800650/Annual+Report+2016.pdf
- www.slideshare.net/PaulJose8/federal-bank-project
- www.dnb.co.in/Publications/topbanks2016/IndiasTopBanks2016.pdf
- Kerala economy : trajectories, challenges, and implications, Author :D. Rajasenan, Gerard de Groot, SEPTRA Project
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