Agra Bank
The Agra Bank was founded in 1833 [1] in Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with a capital of £1,000,000.[2]
It was liquidated in 1900.[3]
Agra Bank
By 1840 its business was still confined to advances to the military. Attempts to circulate banknotes were blocked by the government but in any case notes had little appeal to the bulk of local residents. A branch was established in Somerset Place, Calcutta[4] and by the mid 1850s Calcutta had become its head office with branches in Madras and Bombay and a London agency. Branches in Lahore and Canton were added and at the end of the 1850s the head office was moved to London.[3]
London
Agra and United Service Bank
The Agra and United Service Bank was incorporated in England in 1857 and issued banknotes but it was unable to gain entry to the London Bankers' Clearing House.[5]
Agra and Masterman's Bank
In June 1864 it took over a member of the London Bankers' Clearing House – the London banking partnership of Masterman, Peters, Mildred and Company – and renamed itself Agra and Masterman's Bank. It met strong opposition, suffered share price manipulation and lost customers.[5] By 1866 it had become the leading exchange bank in the East after the Oriental Bank Corporation.[6] Agra and Masterman's was obliged to suspend payment on 6 June 1866 following the panic beginning with the closure of Overend Gurney on 10 May 1866.[3]
References
- Reserve Bank of India accessed 26 May 2020
- Money-Market and City Intelligence. The Times Saturday, June 11, 1836 Issue 16127 Page 6
- Stuart Muirhead, Edwin Green. Crisis Banking in the East, Ashgate Publishing, 1996 ISBN 9781859282441
- The Bengal and Agra Annual Guide and Gazetteer, for 1841-: I, II. accessed 27 May 2020
- Dennis O. Flynn, A.J.H. Latham, Sally M. Miller (editors). Studies in the Economic History of the Pacific Rim Routledge, London 1998 ISBN 0203065352
- Compton Mackenzie. Realms of Silver:100 years of banking in the East