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UCO Bank
Indian public sector bank From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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UCO Bank, formerly United Commercial Bank, is an Indian public sector bank, and financial services government owned body headquartered in Kolkata.[4] It is a medium sized public sector bank in India and ranked 1948 in Forbes Global 2000 list of year 2018 & ranked 80 on the Fortune India 500 list in 2020.[5] During FY 2024–25, its total business was ₹5.13 lakh crore. The market capitalisation of bank is ₹41,305 crore (2025).
UCO Bank's headquarter is in BTM Sarani, Kolkata which is making it the only Government of India owned bank in the east India. As of 31 March 2024[update] the bank had 4,000 plus service units & 43 zonal offices spread all over India. It also has two overseas branches in Singapore and Hong Kong.
UCO bank is one of the special bank which facilitates the mechanism of Rupee-Rial and Rupee-Ruble trade of India between Iran & Russia respectively. It become the first bank to open a unique "lockless" branch in Shani Shinganapur in Maharashtra to show the respect to general belief and faith of the people on lord Shani.
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History
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G. D. Birla, an eminent Indian industrialist, during the Quit India movement of 1942, conceived the idea of organising a commercial bank with Indian capital and management, and the United Commercial Bank Limited was incorporated to give shape to that idea. The bank was started with Kolkata as its head office with an issued capital of ₹2 crores, of which ₹1 crore was actually paid up. Birla was its chairman; the Board of Directors included eminent personalities of India drawn from many fields. The bank opened 14 branches simultaneously across India. [citation needed]
After World War II, United Commercial Bank opened several overseas branches. The first, in 1947, was in Rangoon. Branches in Singapore (1951), Hong Kong (March 1952), London (1953), and Malaysia followed. In 1963 the Burmese government nationalized United Commercial Bank's three branches there, which became People's Bank No. 6.[6]
The Bank's Singapore Operations commenced on 21 April 1951 with the opening of the Singapore Main branch and subsequently Serangoon branch was opened in "Little India" on 7 March 1959. The international linkage from Singapore is supported by a large number of Indian branches network through the Integrated Treasury Branch, Mumbai. Other branches in India also provide international banking facilities through Authorised Branches of the bank.[citation needed]
This international network is further augmented by correspondent arrangements with leading Banks at all important world centres in various countries.[7]
On 15 September 1967, Jalpaiguri Banking and Trading Corporation (JBTC) which had been established in Jalpaiguri in 1887 (or 1889; accounts differ), made a voluntary transfer of its assets and liabilities to United Commercial Bank. JBTC had only one office and specialised in lending against mortgages on tea gardens.[8]
The Government of India nationalised United Commercial Bank on 19 July 1969. The nationalised bank continued the operations of the overseas branches in London, Singapore, and Hong Kong. However, Malaysian law forbade foreign government ownership of banks in Malaysia. Therefore, United Commercial Bank (UCO Bank), Indian Overseas Bank, and Indian Bank contributed their operations in Malaysia to a new joint-venture bank incorporated in Malaysia, United Asian Bank with each of the three parent banks owning a third of the shares. At the time, Indian Bank had three branches, and Indian Overseas Bank and United Commercial Bank had eight between them.[9]
To keep pace with the developing scenario and expansion of business, the Bank undertook an exercise in organisational restructuring in the year 1972. This resulted in more functional specialisation, decentralisation of administration and emphasis on the development of personnel skills and attitudes. Side by side, whole-hearted commitment to the government's poverty alleviation programmes continued and the convenorship of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) was entrusted to the Bank for Odisha and Himachal Pradesh in 1983.[citation needed]
An act of parliament changed the bank's name to UCO Bank in 1985, as a bank in Bangladesh existed with the name United Commercial Bank PLC, which caused confusion in the international banking arena.[10]
In 1991, Bank of Commerce acquired United Asian Bank; in time CIMB came to own Bank of Commerce.[citation needed]
In 1998, UCO closed its London branch. Bank of Baroda acquired the assets and liabilities, but not the personnel, who were made redundant.[citation needed]
Following the amalgamation of Paschim Banga Gramin Bank into West Bengal Gramin Bank, now sponsored by Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank no longer has any Regional Rural Bank under its sponsorship as of 01 May 2025.
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Current market position
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As on 31 March 2025, government shareholding in the Bank stood at 90.95%. For FY 2024–25, the Bank registered a net profit of ₹2,444.99 crore, marking a growth of 47.85% over the previous year. The global business of the Bank reached ₹5,13,527 crore, compared to ₹4,50,007 crore as on 31 March 2024, reflecting an increase of 14.12% year-on-year.
Domestic Presence
The Bank's regional presence includes 3,302 domestic branches as of March 2025. Additionally, the Bank operates 2,613 ATMs across the country.
The domestic branches include 6 Flagship Corporate Branches, 7 Asset Management Branches, 4 Service Branches, 1 Central Pension Processing Center, and 1 Integrated Treasury Branch. Furthermore, there are 25 MCU branches, 43 Retail Loan Hubs, 43 SME & Agriculture Loan Hubs, 12 Integrated Loan Hubs, and 70 Currency Chests functioning across the country, typically attached to major city branches at various centers.
International Presence
Besides providing inland banking services through its vast network of branches in India, bank has a vital presence in the financial markets outside India. It presently has 2 overseas branches (one each in Singapore and HongKong) and 1 representative office has been established in Tehran, Iran.
Additionally, the Bank holds an active SWIFT membership and maintains correspondent banking relationships with several international banks to facilitate global trade finance and cross-border remittances.
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Zonal Offices & Regional Training Centres
Board of Directors
As of March 2025, the UCO Bank Board of Directors has eight members:[11]
- Shri Aravamudan Krishna Kumar (Non-Executive Chairman)
- Shri Ashwani Kumar (Managing Director & CEO)
- Shri Rajendra Kumar Saboo (Executive Director)
- Shri Vijaykumar Nivrutti Kamble (Executive Director)
- Shri Sudhir Shyam (Government Nominee Director)
- Dr. Sarada Prasan Mohanty (RBI Nominee Director)
- Shri Subhash Shankar Malik (Part-time Non-Official Director)
- Ms. Rachna Khare (Director under Shareholder Category)
Regional management
The governance of the Bank all around the nation's respective regional areas is managed by a network of 49 Zonal Offices. These are present in major as well as crucial parts of the country.[12]
Training
The training of newly recruited as well as present staff is overseen by seven training colleges around India:[13]
- Central Staff College, Kolkata
- Staff Training Centre, Ahmedabad
- Staff Training Centre, Bhubaneswar
- Staff Training Centre, Bhopal
- Staff Training Centre, Chandigarh
- Staff Training Centre, Chennai
- Staff Training Centre, Jaipur
Subsidiaries
Paschim Banga Gramin Bank, a Regional Rural Bank of West Bengal, was formerly a subsidiary of UCO Bank with a 35% stake. However, following its amalgamation into West Bengal Gramin Bank, which is now sponsored by Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank no longer has any subsidiary bank under its sponsorship.
Logo and motto
- The logo of UCO bank consists of a pair of clasped hands covered with an octagonal structure. It has been coloured blue since the organisation's inception, blue representing the Bank's national responsibility. The background has remained yellow since the beginning as well.
- The motto of UCO Bank is "Honours your Trust".[14]
- The UCO bank Logo has resemblance to logo of leading South African Life Insurance company Sanlam. Sanlam has tie up with Shriram Group in India who provide Insurance to passengers travelling in Indian Railways[citation needed]
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See also
Citations and references
External links
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