Banking was uncommon in Coimbatore during the 19th Century. Moneylenders and landlords did transactions with farmers and businessmen, but illiterate farmers suffered. There was a need for an institution that would offer financial services in an organised manner.
C. Sadasivam Mudaliar rose to the occasion and established the Coimbatore Janopakara Nidhi Limited on June 22, 1883. This was the first financial institution to be registered under the Companies Act from the Coimbatore region. He steered this Nidhi till 1898; thereafter, advocate B. Venkatachala Mudaliar was its president for a number of years.
This institution came up thanks to the efforts of Ponnuranga Mudaliar, V.R. Krishnaiyer, A.T. Thiruvenkataswamy Mudaliar, C.B. Siddanna Gowder (who was the secretary for 22 years) and C.S. Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar (the son of the founder).
The founders raised a princely sum of Rupees one lakh — 2,000 shares of Rs. 50 each were equally divided into two types of shares. By 1885, another 50,000 rupees were added to the capital. By 1918, the capital is said to have reached Rs. 2,50,000. Subsequently, the management merged the shares into one category. By 1944, the capital was reduced to Rs. 1,25,000 to write off some irrecoverables. On going through the records at its platinum jubilee (1958), we learn that the reserves stood at Rs. 76,152, the deposits at Rs. 5,00,000 and jewel loans at Rs. 4,63,407. The bank functioned out of 15, Vysial Street and had a staff strength of eight, including the secretary, cashier and a head clerk. The head clerk, C.S. Sundararaja Pillai, was duly recognised by the Secretary C.R. Vijayarathnam during the jubilee. Industrialist R. Venkataswamy Naidu, the chairman of The Southern India Mills Association, was the chief guest for the celebrations.
Through its long history, the board of directors of this bank consisted of a number of great personalities — including Vijayaranga Mudaliar, N. Giriya Chettiar, Lalji Sait, M. Sambandha Mudaliar (Sambandam Road in R.S. Puram is named after him), B. Range Gowder, Pillar Chettiar, M.S. Palaniappa Mudaliar and the film millionaire Swamikannu Vincent. People such as C.S. Meenakshisundaram Mudaliar, T. Narayanaswamy Gounder and L. Munianna Gounder guided the institution during tough times.
The management of this bank was clear about its priorities — it included safeguarding investments and earning a decent return while practising socially-conscious lending. They did not want to exploit the rural farmer who pledged his all in order to raise crops on his farm. Several such institutions existed during the early half of the 20th Century and the Dravya Sahaya Bank (belonging to the family of Sir. R.K. Shanmukham Chetty), Coimbatore National Bank, Coimbatore Hindu Kripakara Bank, Kamalalaya Bank, Modern Bank, Thomcos Bank and Coimbatore Bhagyalakshmi Bank were quite popular. Some areas such as Ganapathy and Peelamedu had their own Sri Kumaresar Bank and Karivaradaraja Bank. Over time, social control over banks put an end to them and they were either liquidated or merged with larger ones.
The board of directors of the bank during the platinum jubilee included leading Public Prosecutor T.R. Sundaram Pillai, C.R. Vasantharaghava Mudaliar, Abaichand Vendravan of TV Brothers who had hosted Mahatma Gandhi during one of his visits to Coimbatore, C.R. Vijayarathnam and the socially-conscious Nanjundapuram K. Rangaswamy Nadar, known for his large trademark diamond earrings.
Leading chartered accountants P.N. Raghavendra Rao and C.P. Nataraja Mudaliar audited the bank’s accounts for a number of years. These banks freed the illiterate poor and the downtrodden from the clutches of the cruel and greedy moneylenders.
