The fire at the State Bank of India (SBI) building on Rajaji Salai may not have claimed lives, but it has cost the city a piece of its history.
The Indo-Sarcenic structure, designed by Henry Irwin and built by Thatikonda Namberumal Chetty, cradles a 119-year-old mercantile history. One of the first modern commercial banks of the country, the Bank of Madras first functioned out of the now charred building.
Established in 1843, the bank, along with its counterparts in the Bengal and Bombay presidencies, formed the highest tier of the apex banking system in British India. It became one of the principal centres for issuing and printing paper currency throughout the Empire.
On January 27, 1921, the three Presidency banks merged to form the Imperial Bank of India. The newly centralised enterprise functioned as a commercial bank, a banker’s bank and a banker to the government.
Eight years after independence on July 1, 1955, the Imperial Bank of India was renamed State Bank of India.
The SBI building at First Line Beach will now be scarred by the battle wounds of the fire, jading a particularly resilient, century-old commercial history.