Catholic Syrian bank commenced business on January 1st, 1921 with an authorised capital of Rs.5 lakhs and a paid up capital of Rs. 45270/- During the first two decades of its functioning, the Bank concentrated only in Kerala. Banks and credit institutions which proliferated especially in Kerala received a jolt and many of them came to their doom following the crash of the Travancore National Quilon Bank in 1938 followed by Palai Central Bank in1960. During the period many small banks came to the verge of collapse shaking the confidence of the public and what followed was a process of consolidation. The strategy of mergers and amalgamations of small banks with bigger banks brought the number of banks within controllable limits, thereby making the industry's base strong. In 1964-65, The Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd took part in taking over the liabilities and assets of five small/medium sized banks in Kerala. The expansion programme initiated during these years gathered momentum in the subsequent years. In August 1969, the Bank was included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934. In 1975, the Bank attained the status of 'A' Class Scheduled Bank when its total Deposits crossed Rs.25 crores. The necessity of imparting training to staff looked very important and a modest beginning was therefore, made in setting up a Training College in 1975. In the same year the Bank entered the field of foreign Exchange. At a very early stage, the Bank recognised mechanisation as an effective tool of management and streamlined its accounting procedures by introduction of Data processing system. From November 1975, reconciliation of inter-branch accounts was mechanised by using IBM Data processing machines. The decade of the seventies saw the evolution of a new culture in Indian Banking. Nationalisation of banks imposed 'Social Control' and imparted new ethos to commercial banking . What followed was a massive expansion of bank branches with a distinct thrust on remote rural belts. Special schemes were formulated to cater to the diverse credit needs of small scale industries, road transport operators, agriculturists,and other self employed entrepreneurs. The Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd did not lag behind in taking up the challenge and more than 75% of its clientele belong to small and economically weaker strata of Society. The Bank has a strong rural base with around 80% of the branches in rural and semi- urban areas. Investments in money market and capital market instruments are being expanded and steps are being taken to have an in house equity research wing so as to face the challenges of the future. The Bank has also geared up its machinery to increase its market share of corporate finance in the days to come. The Bank has a Tie-up arrangment with Birla Sunlife Insurance Company Ltd for marketing their Life Insurance products and with New India Assurance Company Limited for marketing their General Insurance products. At Present, the Bank has tie-up arrangements with five companies to market their mutual fund products. At present, the bank has a network of 334 branches/extension counters which includes 5 NRI branches, 5 SSI branches, 5 industrial Finance branches and 4 Service branches. The Bank also plans to open more number of branches in a phased manner. The Bank has installed 21 new ATMs at different locations during the 2005-2006. The Bank at present has 71 Atms. The Bank has 109 ATM networked branches and it is proposed to bring the entire branches under the ATM Network by the end of March 2007.