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Profile: Canara Bank
Sep-18-2025

Canara Bank was founded by Shri Ammembal Subba Rao Pai, a great visionary and philanthropist, in July 1906, at Mangalore, then a small port town in Karnataka. The Bank has gone through the various phases of its growth trajectory over hundred years of its existence. Growth of Canara Bank was phenomenal, especially after nationalization in the year 1969, attaining the status of a national level player in terms of geographical reach and clientele segments. Eighties was characterized by business diversification for the Bank. In June 2006, the Bank completed a century of operation in the Indian banking industry. The eventful journey of the Bank has been characterized by several memorable milestones. Currently, Canara Bank occupies a premier position in the comity of Indian banks.

Over the years, the Bank has been scaling up its market position to emerge as a major Financial Conglomerate with as many as thirteen subsidiaries/sponsored institutions in India and abroad.  Not just in commercial banking, the Bank has also carved a distinctive mark, in various corporate social responsibilities, namely, serving national priorities, promoting rural development, enhancing rural self-employment through several training institutes and spearheading financial inclusion objective. Promoting an inclusive growth strategy, which has been formed as the basic plank of national policy agenda today, is in fact deeply rooted in the Banks founding principles. 'A good bank is not only the financial heart of the community, but also one with an obligation of helping in every possible manner to improve the economic conditions of the common people'. 

These insightful words of its founder continue to resonate even today in serving the society with a purpose. The growth story of Canara Bank in its first century was due, among others, to the continued patronage of its valued customers, stakeholders, committed staff and uncanny leadership ability demonstrated by its leaders at the helm of affairs. It strongly believes that this century is going to be equally rewarding and eventful not only in service of the nation but also in helping the Bank emerge as the “Best Bank to Bank with” by pursuing industry benchmarks in profitability, operational efficiency, asset quality, risk management and digital innovation.

Business of the Bank

Canara Bank offers a wide range of products and services such as saving accounts, deposits, loans, mutual funds, Insurance, internet banking, debit card, credit card, etc. The bank provides various services to its corporate clients such as Cash Management Services, loans, IPO monitoring services, etc. Besides various personal banking products it also offers remittance services, consultancy services to its NRI Clients. It also offers various products and services to priority and SME sector. In Personal Banking, it offers a wide range of products and services such as saving accounts, deposits, loans, mutual funds, Insurance, internet banking, debit card, credit card, etc. In Corporate Banking, it provides various services to its corporate clients such as Cash Management Services, loans, IPO monitoring services, etc. In NRI Banking, besides various personal banking products it also offers remittance services, consultancy services to its NRI Clients. In SME sector, it offers various products and services to priority and SME sector.

Products and services of bank 

Deposits: 

  • Savings account
  • Current account
  • Term deposits
  • Online account opening
  • Canara crest
  • Capital gain account
  • Loans:
  • Home loan
  • Vehicle loans
  • Education loans
  • Personal loans
  • Mortgage loans
  • Gold loans
  • Msme loans
  • Corporate loans
  • Agri loans
  • Solar loans

Investment:

  • Investments
  • Insurance
  • Government business products
  • Mutual funds

Digital products:

  • Digital lending portal
  • Mobile banking
  • Internet banking
  • Cards
  • UPI and fastag
  • Missed call banking
  • Online account opening
  • Payment solutions

Awards and Achievements

  • 2017-18: Received Master card Innovation Award for Canara International Prepaid card under prepaid segment.
  • 2017-18: “Rupay Special” award for being the highest Rupay card issuing bank by NPCI.
  • 2017-18: VISA Award on crossing a key milestone on issuance of 1.35 crore VISA debit card.
  • 2017-18: Bagged FINNOVITI award for Innovation for CANDI Branch.
  • 2017-18: ASSOCHAM Social Banking Excellence Awards 2017 for Government Sponsored Schemes and Runner-up for Agriculture Banking in the Large Bank Class.
  • 2017-18: Golden Peacock Award 2017 for Corporate Social Responsibility from Institute of Directors, New Delhi.
  • 2017-18: Skoch Technologies Growth 2017 for “CANDI”, digital branch.
  • 2017-18: Excellent Customer Service Award’ at the 5th SME Excellence 2017 by ASSOCHAM.
  • 2017-18: Best CIO of the Year” by Computer Society of India for “CANDI” an ambitious digital banking project of the Bank in the “IT Innovation & Excellence Awards2017”.
  • 2017-18: Skoch Smart Security awards 2017 for “SIEM” tool.
  • 2017-18: Dun and BradStreet Award for 2016-17 adjudging as Best Public Sector Bank-Priority Sector Lending Bank. Consecutively third time (2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17) Bank has been receiving this Award.
  • 2017-18: Certificate of Excellence for exemplary leadership in promoting RSETIs and Certificate of Excellence for RUDSETI for FY15 & FY16.
  • 2018-19: Central Vigilance Commission has awarded Canara Bank with ‘Vigilance Excellence Award-Outstanding’ under Category ‘Timely Completion of Disciplinary Proceedings’ for the year 2018.
  • 2018-19: Bank received first runner up award on theme Credit off-take in EASE Banking Reform Awards 2019.
  • 2018-19: Bank has bagged four awards from the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) under Agriculture, Priority sector lending, Social Banking and Technology.
  • 2018-19: Bank has bagged eight Awards from Public Relations Council Of India (PRCI) including 3 Gold under Television Commercials, Advertising Corporate Campaign RADIO and Advertising Corporate Campaign Television.
  • 2018-19: NPCI Special Award in recognition of excellent performance in NFS ATM Network, Rupay, CTS & UPI / IMPS.
  • 2018-19: Bank’s House magazine ‘Shreyas’ bagged Making of Developed India Award sponsored by ET Now for best in house magazine for the year 2018.
  • 2018-19: Secured Chamber of Indian Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (CIMSME) awards for best bank for promotional schemes (Large category).
  • 2018-19: Received runner up CIMSME award for best MSME bank (Large category) and financially inclusive bank (Large category).
  • 2018-19: Secured PFRDA’s best performing PSB award in APY performance and the splendid seven awards for the APY campaign.
  • 2019-20: Canara Bank has been awarded ‘India’s Most Trusted Public Sector Banking Services Company 2019’ by International Brand Consulting Corporation, USA.
  • 2019-20: Canara Bank has been awarded ‘SIDBI-ET INDIA MSE AWARD-2019’ under noteworthy Lender to MSE Category - (Public Sector Bank).
  • 2019-20: Canara Bank received the award for Best Data Quality Management 2018-19 at the Annual Credit Information Conference.
  • 2019-20: Canara Bank received National award for SHG Bank Linkage 2018-19 (Public Sector Banks) from DAY-NRLM, Ministry of Rural Development.
  • 2019-20: The bank has been conferred with VISA GLOBAL QUALITY AWARD 2018 for the lowest global frauds reflection its commitment to deliver superior service quality.
  • 2019-20: DRBT Banking Technology Innovation Contest for CANDI Branch.
  • 2019-20: Skoch Order of Merit Award 2019 for Canara DiYA, Canara Recovery App, Canara Digital Learning & Social Media Analytics and Campaign management.
  • 2019-20: Skoch Award 2019 Silver for “Canara DiYA'.
  • 2021-22: Canara Bank has received APY annual award 2021-22 from PFRDA.
  • 2021-22: Canara Bank has been awarded 2nd position under implementation of Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) for FY 2020-21 by KVIC, Ministry of MSME.
  • 2021-22: Canara Bank has been awarded “BEST MSME BANK OF THE YEAR (PSU) - RUNNER UP” at 8th MSME EXCELLENCE AWARDS BY ASSOCHAM.
  • 2021-22: Canara Bank has been awarded DSCI Excellence Awards 2021 as Winner in Best Security practices in Banking Sector
  • 2021-22: Canara Bank has been awarded DSCI Excellence Awards 2021 as Winner in Security Leader of the year (BFSI).
  • 2021-22: Canara Bank has been awarded DSCI Excellence Awards 2021 as Finalist in Best Security Operations Centre of the year.
  • 2022-23: Canara Bank was adjudged winner under Best Technology Talent and has received special prizes under the categories of Best Technology Bank, Best Digital Engagement and Best Financial Inclusion during the 18th IBA Technology Conference, Expo and Awards in December, 2022.
  • 2022-23: Canara Bank was adjudged as winner of “Bank of the Year 2022- India” award by The Banker, a monthly international finance magazine, owned by Financial Times Ltd based in London, United Kingdom. The award is for the Bank’s performance during the previous three financial years, strategic initiatives, technological upgradation and social service.
  • 2022-23: The Learning and Development vertical of Canara Bank has been awarded the ‘Golden Globe Tigers Awards’ for Excellence & Leadership Training and Development and Best training initiative for Banking Sector.
  • 2022-23: Canara Bank received 2nd prize for Campaign period Target Achievers and 3rd prize for valuable contribution by Banks during Agri Infra Fund Award Ceremony.
  • 2023-24: Canara Bank has been conferred with Best Data Quality Index (DQI) award for achieving Best Data Quality among Public Sector Banks for the FY 2023-24 by the Credit Information Company - M/s TransUnion CIBIL.
  • 2023-24: CIBM Manipal Campus has been certified Green Campus by Indian Green Building Council, a part of the Confederation of Indian Industry.
  • 2023-24: Canara Bank has received accolades at the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Excellency awards during International Inclusion Alliance Conference 2024.
  • 2023-24: Canara Bank has been conferred Global Brand Excellence award for Best Bi-lingual In-House Magazine “Shreyas” by World Brand Congress in February 2024.2024-25: The Golden Globe Tiger Award for “Excellence in Training” initiated by World HRD Congress.
  • 2023-24: Canara Bank has received “Best Cyber Security implementation award” at an event Organized by EnQube.
  • 2024-25: WarriorAward for Execution of Digital & Paperless documentation in Gold Loans organized by the NeSL.
  • 2024-25: Silver Award and an award for API Banking under Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) Category at Skoch Award ceremony on 30th November 2024.
  • 2024-25: IBS Intelligence (IBSi) Global Fintech Innovation Awards - Mule Detection using ML.

Milestones

  • 1906: Canara Hindu Permanent Fund Ltd. formally registered with a capital of 2000 shares of Rs. 50/- each, with 4 employees.
  • 1910: Canara Hindu Permanent Fund renamed as Canara Bank Limited
  • 1969: 14 major banks in the country, including Canara Bank, nationalized on July 19
  • 1976: 1000th branch inaugurated
  • 1983: Overseas branch at London inaugurated, Cancard (the Bank’s credit card) launched
  • 1985: Takeover of Lakshmi Commercial Bank Limited and Commissioning of Indo Hong Kong International Finance Limited (now a full-fledged branch)
  • 1987: Canbank Mutual Fund & Canfin Homes launched
  • 1989: Canbank Venture Capital Fund started
  • 1989-90: Canbank Factors Limited, the factoring subsidiary launched
  • 1992-93: Became the first Bank to articulate and adopt the directive principles of “Good Banking”.
  • 1995-96: Became the first Bank to be conferred with ISO 9002 certification for one of its branches in Bangalore
  • 2001-02: Opened a 'Mahila Banking Branch', first of its kind at Bangalore, for catering exclusively to the financial requirements of women clientele.
  • 2002-03: Maiden IPO of the Bank
  • 2003-04: Launched Internet Banking Services
  • 2004-05: 100% Branch computerization
  • 2005-06: Entered 100th Year in Banking Service. Launched Core Banking Solution in select branches. Number One Position in Aggregate Business among Nationalized Banks.
  • 2006-07: Retained Number One Position in Aggregate Business among Nationalized Banks. Signed MoUs for Commissioning Two JVs in Insurance and Asset Management with international majors viz., HSBC (Asia Pacific) Holding and Robeco Groep N.V respectively.
  • 2007-08: Launching of New Brand Identity. Incorporation of Insurance and Asset Management JVs. Launching of 'Online Trading' portal. Launching of a ‘Call Centre’. Switchover to Basel II New Capital Adequacy Framework.
  • 2008-09: The Bank crossed the coveted Rs. 3 lakh crore in aggregate business. The Bank’s 3rd foreign branch at Shanghai commissioned.
  • 2009-10: The Bank’s aggregate business crossed Rs. 4 lakh crore mark. Net profit of the Bank crossed Rs. 3000 crore. The Bank’s branch network crossed the 3000 mark.
  • 2010-11: The Bank’s aggregate business crossed Rs. 5 lakh crore mark. Net profit of the Bank crossed Rs. 4000 crore. 100% coverage under Core Banking Solution. The Bank’s 4th foreign branch at Leicester and a Representative office at Sharjah, UAE, opened. The Bank raised Rs. 1993 crore under QIP. Govt. holding reduced to 67.72% post QIP.
  • 2011-12: Total number of branches reached 3600. The Bank’s 5th foreign branch at Manama, Bahrain opened.
  • 2012-13: Highest Dividend of 130% paid for the year
  • 2013-14: 1027 branches and 2786 ATMs opened during the year. Global business crossed the Rs.7 lakh crore milestone. Switchover to Basel III New Capital Adequacy Framework. Branch Network and Atms increased to 4755 branches and 6312 ATMs.
  • 2014-15: Global Business of the Bank crossed Rs.8 lakh crore.
  • 2015-16: The Bank’s 8th foreign branch at DIFC (Dubai) opened.
  • 2016-17: Branch network crossed 6000 milestones.Total number branches rose to 6083.Canara Bank (Tanzania) Ltd., a foreign subsidiary, opened.
  • 2017-18: Global Business of the Bank crossed Rs.9 lakh crore.
  • 2018-19: Global Business of the Bank crossed 10 lakh crore, Bank issued 2 core new equity shares to employees under Canara Bank Employee Share Purchase scheme (CanBank-ESPS).
  • 2019-20: Domestic Business of Canara Bank crossed Rs. 10 Lakh Crore.
  • 2021: Canara Bank unveils three loan schemes
  • 2022: Canara Bank enters into agreement with Tata AIA Life Insurance, Shriram General Insurance.
  • 2022: Canara Bank crosses total global business of Rs 20,00,000 crore.
  • 2023: Canara Bank, NBBL launch cross-border inward bill payment services for Indians based in Oman. 
  • 2024: Canara Bank unveils new products to meet shortfall of hospital expenditure. 
  • 2025: Canara Bank’s JV launches ‘SecureInvest’. 
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