Allahabad Bank was an Indian nationalised commercial bank with its headquarters in Kolkata, India.^[2] Founded in Prayagraj in 24 April 1865 and nationalised by the government of India in 1969, the bank provided banking and financial services for 155 years until it was merged with Indian Bank in 2020. It was the oldest still running joint stock bank in India until its merger.

As of 31 March 2018, Allahabad Bank had over 3245 branches across India.^[3] The bank did a total business of ₹3.8 trillion during the FY 2017–18.^[4] The bank's market capitalisation in June 2018 was US$573 million and ranked #1,882 on the Forbes Global 2000 list.^[5]

The activities of the bank includes accepting deposits, lending loans, and providing financial related services.^[6] The bank also provides short and long term loans to agricultural, small-scale industries and other priority sectors. The bank also offers internet banking facilities, and other banking services to a wide range of customers.^[6] The bank operates through three segments: treasury operations, corporate and wholesale banking, and retail banking, and other banking businesses.^[6]

On 24 April 1865, a group of Europeans^{[citation needed]} founded Allahabad Bank in Prayagraj.^[7][8] By the end of the 19th century it had branches at Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Nainital, Kolkata, and Delhi.

In the early 20th century, with the start of Swadeshi movement, Allahabad Bank witnessed a spurt in deposits. In 1920, P & O Banking Corporation acquired Allahabad Bank with a bid price of ₹436 (US$4.50) per share. In 1923 the bank moved its head office and the registered office to Kolkata for reasons of both operational convenience and business opportunities. Then in 1927 Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China (Chartered Bank) acquired P&O Bank. However, Chartered Bank continued to operate Allahabad Bank as a separate entity.

Allahabad Bank opened a branch in Rangoon (Yangon). At some point, Chartered Bank amalgamated Allahabad Bank's branch in Rangoon with its own.^[9] In 1963 the revolutionary government in Myanmar nationalized the Chartered Bank's operations there, which became People's Bank No. 2.^[10]

On 19 July 1969, the Indian government nationalised Allahabad Bank, along with 13 other banks.^[11] In 1984, the bank forayed into merchant banking activity. In 1991, the bank instituted the All Bank Finance Ltd. as a wholly owned subsidiary for Merchant Banking.

The United Industrial Bank merged with the bank in 1989.^[12]

In October 1989, Allahabad Bank acquired United Industrial Bank, a Calcutta-based bank that had been established in 1940 and that brought with it 145 branches. Two years later, Allahabad Bank established AllBank Finance Ltd, a wholly owned merchant banking subsidiary.

In 1995, the bank had entered into an MoU with SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) for financing small-scale industrial units. And in 1996, the bank had set up an Information Technology Centre to provide in-depth IT training to the officers in Kolkata and Lucknow.^[12]

Aligning with the SEBI rules and regulations, the company surrendered their merchant banking registration in 1998. Post this, they got registered as an NBFC (Non-Banking Financial Company) with RBI.^[12] In 1998, they received permission from RBI to engage with gold trading. The bank also entered into an arrangement with IDBI and ICICI in regard to infrastructural projects.^[12]

In1999, the bank had launched two new schemes to increase the pace of credit off take. In the same period, TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) entered into a contract with the bank to implement the integrated banking system (IBS), a branch mechanisation package at 60 branches.^[12] The bank bagged three major core sector clients, such as the NTPC, Power Grid Connection, and Indian Railway Finance Corporation.^[12]

Its older logo, a monogram consisting of "A" and "B", was replaced by the current 'Triveni Sangam' logo circa 1997.^[13] In 2001, the bank launched its new loan scheme for pensioners.^[12]

The government's ownership of Allahabad Bank shrank in October 2002 after the bank engaged in an initial public offering (IPO) of ₹100 million (US$1.0 million) of shares, each with a face value of ₹10. The IPO reduced the Government's shareholding to 71.16%. Then in April 2005 the bank conducted a second public offering of ₹100 million shares, each again with a face value ₹of 10 and selling at a premium of ₹72. This offering reduced the Government's ownership to 55.23%.

In 2002, Allahabad bank tied up with the National Institute of Bank Management, Crisil and EY for the development of HRM, risk management, and general business strategy.

The bank signed an MoU with the Corporation Bank in 2003 for sharing the banking network.^[12] In 2004, the bank entered into MoU with ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India) for distribution of their products to exports.^[12] In the same year UTI Mutual Funds and the bank announced a strategic tie-up for the distribution of the mutual fund schemes. In 2005, the bank has signed an MoU with Mahindra Gujarat Tractor Ltd. for financing the brand tractor Hindustan under a special financial scheme.^[12]

In June 2006, the bank opened its first office outside India when it opened a representative office in Shenzhen, Mainland China.^[14] In February 2007, Allahabad Bank opened its first overseas branch, in Hong Kong. In March, the bank's business crossed the ₹10 million mark. In 2008, the bank commenced the process of implementing the Agriculture Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme. In the years of 2010-11, the bank brought all its branches under the ambit of Core Banking Solutions.^[12] During these years, another significant development occurred that helped the bank venture into improving the online trading facilities of the bank. The same would be carried out in partnership with M/S Aditya Birla Money Ltd.^[12]

During these years, they also adopted multiple technological solutions. These solutions include internet banking, SMS banking, e-banking, RTGS/NEFT, online tax accounting.^[12] In addition, the website was made available in English, Hindi and Bengali. The bank entered into a tie-up with UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India Ltd.) to allot unique identification numbers to customers of the bank across the nation.^[12]

During the year 2012-13, the bank launched the following products: a) RuPay, the branded domestic ATM card, b) Prepaid Gift Card, a non-reloadable prepaid card that can be used to purchase gifts, c) IMPS (Inter Bank Mobile Payment Systems), an electronic fund transfer service through mobile phones.^[12]

During 2014-15, two new products were launched by the bank. These includes the All Bank Credit Loyalty Benefit Scheme and All Bank New Saral Loan Scheme have been launched to boost the portfolio of retail credit. During this time period, the bank also signed an MoU with BSNL.^[12] This was to extend the facility of retail loans at concessional rates across six different schemes to the employees of BSNL.

In 2017, the bank undertook a bunch of measures to arrest fresh slippage ^[15]. To improve asset quality, the bank initiated consistent recovery drive ^[16]. During this time period, the bank launched an updated version of the mobile application, which helped the customers do transactions with ease ^[17]. The bank had also introduced the facility to register for mobile banking through its network of ATMs.

During FY18, the bank took part in four tranches of the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme, launched by Government of India to reduce the hoarding of the metal as well as the import of the same ^[18]. During this financial year, they participated in Income Declaration scheme 2016, and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme. In FY18, the bank updated its digital banking services, and participated in Lok Adalat actively ^[19].

On 30 August 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that Allahabad Bank would merge with Indian Bank. The merger would create the seventh largest public sector bank in the country with assets of ₹8.08 trillion (US$84 billion).^[20][21] The Union Cabinet approved the merger on 4 March 2020.^[22] Indian Bank assumed control of Allahabad Bank on 1 April 2020.^[23]

Allahabad Bank transcended national boundaries, and now has multiple international offices. In June 2006, the bank had opened a representative office in Shenzen, China.^[12] In 2006, they opened their first branch under core banking services (CBS). In February 2007, the bank opened its first branch in Hong Kong.^[12]

Allahabad Bank's equity shares were listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India.

As of 31 March 2013, the bank had 22,557 employees, out of which 3,293 were women (15%).^[4] Out of the total employees, 51% were officers, 30% were clerks and the remaining 19% were subordinate staff.^[4] The bank recruited 1,950 employees (1,421 Officers, 390 Clerks and 139 subordinate staff) during the same financial year.^[4] The company incurred ₹20 billion on employee benefit expenses during the same financial year.^[4] During the FY 2013–14, the business per employee was ₹13.50 million and it earned a net profit of ₹0.477 million per employee.^[4]

The bank was operating in the following states/UTs.

On 13 July 2019, Allahabad Bank disclosed that it detected a fraud, worth ₹17.7482 billion (US$184 million) by Bhushan Power & Steel (BPSL).^[25]

The bank also detected another fraud of ₹6.8827 billion (US$71 million) by SEL Manufacturing Ltd., a Ludhiana-based textile company on 17 July 2019.^[26][27]

• List of banks in India
• Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China

• Official website Archived 27 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine