Bank of India or BANKINDIA

The Bank of India was founded on September 07, 1906 by a group of eminent businessmen in Mumbai. It was also under private ownership and control until July 1969 when it was nationalized along with the 13 other banks. It started with its first office in Mumbai with a paid-up capital of about INR 50 lakh and 50 employees, soon the Bank has made a rapid growth over the years and blossomed itself into a mighty institution with a robust national presence as well as sizable international operations. In terms of Business, the Bank occupies a premier position among the other banks which were nationalized. Currently, it has 3101 branches in India which are spread across all states/ union territories, including 141 specialized branches. These branches are controlled via 48 different Zonal Offices. There are also 29 branches and offices which include the three representative offices overseas. It also came out with its maiden public issue in 1997 and followed on Qualified Institutions Placement as in February 2008. The acknowledged total number of shareholders as on September 30, 2009, is approximately 2, 15,790. And while firmly adhering to a particular policy of prudence and caution, the Bank has been at the forefront of introducing different types of innovative services and systems. It has also conducted a successful blend of traditional values and the ethics which go along with the most modern infrastructure. Bank of India has also been the first among the other nationalized banks to establish a fully computerized branch with the ATM facility at the Mahalaxmi Branch in Mumbai in the year 1989. Also, the Bank is a founder member of SWIFT in India, and it has pioneered the Health Code System Introduction in the year 1982, for evaluating and rating its credit portfolio accurately. Bank of India is in association with the capital market goes back to the year 1921 when it agreed with the Bombay Stock Exchange or BSE to manage the entire BSE Clearing House. In this particular association, it has blossomed into a joint venture with BSE, also known as the BOI Shareholding Ltd. for extending the depository services to the stockbroking community.

Some of its International Operations overseas:

The Bank has a presence across 4 continents and 18 countries covering all the major financial centers such as New York, London, Singapore, Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. As on March 31, 2011, the Bank has a network of approximately 29 branches and offices overseas, which include 5 representative offices abroad. The Bank has also received special permission from RBI to expand its overseas operations in countries such as Bangladesh, China, Canada, Egypt, Qatar, New Zealand, Madagascar, South Africa, UAE, UK (Leeds and Coventry) and Vietnam. In New Zealand, the first subsidiary Bank of India in New Zealand Limited was registered as a bank by the local regulators of RBNZ on March 31, 2011. The Bank also has a Global Processing Centre (GPC) in Singapore with an identical IT system at Bank. The foreign branches are improving the Management Information system as well as customer service.

Some of the Products and Services:

The Bank has provided a wide range of products and services in deposits, cards, NRI banking, loans, and online services such as Internet banking. Here are some of the new products and services introduced:

1. The Kits were added for the NRI Customers opening NRE/ NRO accounts at the overseas centers.
2. The Calculation of interest on Savings Bank Account from April 01, 2010, has been changed from a monthly product basis to a daily product basis.
3. It has launched Marathi version of the Bank website
4. The Bank introduced the issuance of insta–pin for Debit–cum–ATM Card. It will address the customer grievance for non-receipt of Re–pin and also save the effort and expense in generating and mailing Re–pins.
5. And as a fraud prevention measure, the SMS alerts – Star Sandesh are created and also provided to all customers who have already registered their mobile number with the Bank for all the Debit transactions from delivery channels.
6. It enables internet banking customers to make online Fixed Deposit.
7. Star eTrade, which is an online share trading – It is an integration with the Gupta Equities who have extended the facility of online e–Payment to the customers holding Bank Debit–cum–ATM card. It also enables the customers to use their Debit–cum–ATM cards for e–payments in addition to credit card and Internet banking account.
8. The Mobile banking facility has been introduced as the latest alternate delivery channel which allows its customers to perform all the banking activities virtually from the convenience of the Mobile phone at any time and from anywhere. And this facility is extended to all Retail internet banking customers.
9. The Online Interbank Fund Transfer across banks, through Star Connect Internet Banking Services, using RTGS/ NEFT
10. BOI Star e–Pay for Autopay or online payment of various utility services/ bills.
11. E–Payment for Direct & Indirect, Central Excise & Service Tax, and e–Freight Payment.
12. Online payment of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) license fees.
13. Online Application for an education loan, online booking of Railway & Airlines ticket.
14. Facility to make an online bid–cum–application for Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) IPO issues by retail internet banking customers having an account with any DPO.

Bank Subsidiaries:

1. BOI Shareholding Ltd. or BOISL
2. Securities Trading Corporation of India Ltd. or STCI
3. Star Union Dai–ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd. or SUDLife
4. ASREC (India) Ltd. (Associate)
5. Indo Zambia Bank Ltd. (IZB)
6. PT Bank Swadeshi Tbk, Indonesia
7. Bank of India (Tanzania) Ltd.
8. Bank of India (New Zealand) Ltd.

The Milestones:

1. It was also the first nationalized Bank to establish a fully computerized and ATM facility.
2. It became the first Indian Bank to open its branch outside the country in London in 1946.
3. It became the first Bank to open an office in Europe – Paris in the year 1974.
4. It is the first PSU Bank in India which has implemented a Two-factor Authentication or 2FA known as Star Token for both the Retail as well as the corporate internet banking customers as an additional security measure.

Some Awards:

2010–2011:

• The Bank also received the Winners Award in International Banking Technology Award 2010 from IBA in the Best Business Enablement Initiative category in recognition of its achievement in Banking Technology for the Year 2009.
• The Bank was adjudged FE–EY as the Most Efficient Public Sector Bank 2010 by Dalal Street.
• The Mumbai North Zone of the Bank received the Third Prize for the use of Official Language Hindi in Bank from Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Official Language Department.