Genesis & Growth
The history of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd., the then Nadar Bank Ltd., dates back to 1921. The thought of establishing a bank under the guidance of the able Nadar business community was mooted out in the Anniversary of Nadar Mahajana Sangam held at Tuticorin in 1920. The proposal was effected soon. The bank was registered on May 11, 1921 as “The Nadar Bank Ltd”.
A group of dedicated men with shrewd acumen and sound integrity had been constituted as Board of Directors and they elected Shri M.V. Shanmugavel Nadar as Chairman on Nov 04, 1921. The bank was opened by Shri T.V. Balagurusamy Nadar, the then President of the Nadar Mahajana Sangam and the bank threw open its door to the public on Nov 11, 1921 at 9am in Ana Mavanna Building at South Raja Street, Tuticorin.
Customer Service
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd., focused its attention on the customers from the very beginning and the bank is known for its personalized service. The team of management and staff members of the bank are having the practice of meeting people from various walks of life and hear their requirements on a regular basis.
Pan India Network
The bank was having only 4 branches until the year 1947 at Tuticorin, Madurai, Sivakasi and Virudhunagar. The bank had also a branch at Colombo in the year 1937 and the same was closed in the year 1939. The first branch outside the State of Tamilnadu was opened in the year 1976 at Bangalore. The first fully computerized branch was opened at WGC Road, Tuticorin on Dec 09, 1984. The bank had established its first currency chest in 1993 at Madurai & has industrial finance branches at Coimbatore, Chennai and Secunderabad. The Bank has launched ATM Card from Nov 11, 2003.Currency chest at Pudukkottai, Thoothukudi is functioning in our fully automatic environment under Robotics. It has the distinction of first currency chest among private sector banks in South India facilitated with Robotics. The Bank has now 600 full-fledged branches all over India. 12 Regional Offices, 2 Central Processing Centres, 1 Service Branch, 4 Currency Chests, 1151 Automated Teller Machines, 402 Cash Recycle Machines, 64 e-Lobbies, 155 Mini E-Lobbies. All the 600 branches are computerised and interconnected
Serving the Rural
The bank has had a vision of extending banking service to common people of rural areas, hitherto neglected, with all humility. The bank dotted more and more non-metro centers with its branches thereby extending its service area in range, variety and magnitude. Out of 601 branches, 511 branches are located at rural, semi urban & urban (non-metro) centers. As on 30.09.2025, 186 Business Correspondent's are engaged.
Growth of Deposits
Augmenting the deposit base is the vital objective of the banks. The bank had introduced novel deposit schemes and continued its efforts towards deposit mobilization and succeeded. The bank which had a deposit base of ₹21,010.00 in the year 1921 increased it to ₹ 27 Lakhs during 1946 and to ₹ 182 Lakhs during 1971. Deposit Level of the bank as on September 30, 2025 is ₹ 55,421 Crores which pronounces the confidence of the public reposed on the bank.
Growth of Advances
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd., concentrated its efforts to meet the genuine requirements of various sectors of the economy and advanced to the needy sectors of the society. The bank has taken it as a challenge to participate in various Government sponsored schemes and extended its support in uplifting the downtrodden in the society. The bank has taken up, the assistance to various industrial and export sectors, as a thrust area and granted loans to the needy clients. The level of advances which stood at ₹ 52 Lakhs in the year 1962 has spurted to ₹46,930 Crores as on September 30, 2025. The bank has a sound portfolio of advances consisting a wide basket of retail finance. The bank as a matter of policy grants advances to retail segments consisting of retail traders and business enterprises
Profitability
The bank, which had a Net Profit of ₹6,984.00 in the year 1921 had spurted its profit to ₹5.05 Lakhs in the year 1971 and ₹1183.00 Crores for the year ended March 2025. The high level of profit earned by the bank enabled to build up and sustain the high level of reserve base. The Profitability trend continues this year also.
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd., is one of the very few banks having very high reserve base and its earnings per share remains the highest.
Profit to Shareholders
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd., is the only bank in India declaring consistently higher rate of dividend to its shareholders from the very beginning. The bank had declared 6% dividend to its shareholders in 1921. The book value per share stood at ₹568.90 as on March 31,2025 and the face value of the share is ₹10.
Dedicated Work Force
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd., is very fortunate in having dedicated employees at all levels who have been energetic and working with untiring zeal for the good growth and prosperity of the institution for the past 103 years. The name and fame of the bank are in a large measure, due to the efficient and diligent service of the highly loyal staff members and officers. This has enabled the Bank to adopt the official motto “Totally Motivated Bank”.