Bank of Baroda (BoB) is the third largest Public Sector bank in India, after State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank. BoB has total assets in excess of Rs. 2.27 lakh crores, or Rs. 2,274 billion, a network of over 3000 branches and offices, and about 1100+ ATMs. It offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries and affiliates in the areas of investment banking, credit cards and asset management.
Maharajah of Baroda Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad III founded the bank on July 20, 1908 in the princely state of Baroda, in Gujarat. The bank, along with 13 other major commercial banks of India, was nationalised on 19 July 1969, by the Government of India.
1908-1958
1908: Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III set up Bank of Baroda (BOB).
1910: BOB established its first branch in Ahemdabad
1953: BOB established a branch in Mombassa and another in Kampala
1954: BOB opened a branch in Nairobi.
1956: BOB opened a branch in Dar-es-Salaam.
1957: BOB established a branch in London.
1959: BOB acquired Hind Bank.
1960s
1961: BOB merged in New Citizen Bank of India. This merger helped it increase its branch network in Maharashtra .
BOB also opened a branch in Fiji.
1962: BOB opened a branch in Mauritius.
1963: BOB acquired Surat Banking Corporation in Surat,Gijrat.
1964: BOB acquired two banks, Umbergaon People’s Bank in southern Gujarat and Tamil Nadu Central Bank in Tamil Nadu state.
1964: BOB lost its branch in Narayanjanj (East Pakistan) due to the Indo-Pakistan war. It is unclear when BOB had opened the branch.
1965: BOB opened a branch in Guyana.
1967: The Tanzanian government nationalized BOB’s three branches there and transferred their operations to the Tanzanian government-owned National Banking Corporation.
1969: The Government of India nationalized 14 top banks, including BOB.
BOB incorporated its operations in Uganda as a 51% subsidiary, with the government owning the rest.
1970s and 1980s
1972: BOB acquired Bank of India’s operations in Uganda.
1974: BOB opened a branch each in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
1975: BOB acquired the majority shareholding and management control of Bareilly Corporation Bank (est. 1928) and Nainital Bank (est. in 1954), both in Uttar Pradesh. Since then, Nainital Bank has expanded to Uttarakhand State.
1976: BOB opened a branch in Oman and another in Brussels. The Brussels branch was aimed at Indian firms from Mumbai (Bombay) engaged in diamond cutting and jewellery having business in Antwerp, a major center for diamond cutting.
1978: BOB opened branch in New York and another in the Seychelles.
1979: BOB opened a branch in Nassau, the Bahamas.
1980: BOB opened a branch in Bahrain and a representative office in Sydney, Australia.
BOB, Union Bank of India and Indian Bank established IUB International Finance, a licensed deposit taker, in Hong Kong. Each of the three banks took an equal share.
1985: BOB (20%), Bank of India (20%), Central Bank of India (20%) and ZIMCO (Zambian government; 40%) established Indo-Zambia Bank (Lusaka).
BOB also opened an Offshore Banking Unit (OBU) in Bahrain.
1988: BOB acquired Traders Bank, which had a branch network in Delhi.
1990s
1990: BOB opened an OBU in Mauritius, but closed its representative office in Sydney.
1991: BOB took over the London branches of Union Bank of India and Punjab & Sind Bank (P&S). P&S’s branch had been established before 1970 and Union Bank’s after 1980. The Reserve Bank of India ordered the takeover of the two following the banks’ involvement in the Sethia fraud in 1987 and subsequent losses.
1992 BOB incorporated its operations in Kenya into a local subsidiary with a small tranche of shares quoted on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
1993: BOB closed its OBU in Bahrain.
1996: BOB Bank entered the capital market in December with an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The Government of India is still the largest shareholder, owning 66% of the bank’s equity.
1997: BOB opened a branch in Durban.
1998: BOB bought out its partners in IUB International Finance in Hong Kong. Apparently this was a response to regulatory changes following Hong Kong’s reversion to the People’s Republic of China. The now wholly owned subsidiary became Bank of Baroda (Hong Kong), a restricted license bank.
BOB also acquired Punjab Cooperative Bank in a rescue.
1999: BOB merged in Bareilly Corporation Bank in another rescue. At the time, Bareilly had 64 branches, including four in Delhi.
In Guyana, BOB incorporated its branch as a subsidiary, Bank of Baroda Guyana.
BOB added a branch in Mauritius, but closed its Harrow Branch in London.
2000s
2000: BOB established Bank of Baroda (Botswana).
2002: BOB acquired Benares State Bank in Benaras at the Reserve Bank of India’s request.
2002: Bank of Baroda (Uganda) was listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).
2003: BOB opened an OBU in Mumbai.
2004: BOB acquired the failed Gujarat Local Area Bank, and returned to Tanzania by establishing a subsidiary in Dar-es-Salaam.
BOB also opened a representative office each in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Guangdong, PRC.
2005: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has approved a joint venture between BOB, Bank of Maharashtra (BOM), and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) to set up a bank in Malaysia. The new bank will reside in Kuala Lumpur, which has a large population of Indians. The initial capital required will be US$78 million; BOB will invest 40%, and the other two banks will invest 30% each. The JV is awaiting approval from the Malaysian Central Bank. Bank has built and commissioned its own State-of-the-Art Global Data Centre (DC) in Mumbai for running its centralized banking solution(CBS) and other applications in 1900+ branches across India and 20 other counties where the Bank is operating.
BOB also opened a representative office in Thailand.
2006: BOB established an Offshrore Banking Unit (OBU) in Singapore.
2007: In its centenary year, BOB’s total business crossed 2.09 lakh crores, its branches crossed 1000, and its global customer base 29 million people.
2008: BOB opened a branch in Guangzhou, China (02/08/2008).
2009: Bank of Baroda registered with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, enabling it to trade as a bank in New Zealand
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