PNB Full Form

What is the full form of PNB?

The full form of PNB is Punjab National Bank. It is one of India’s reputed public sector banks, that commenced its services in Lahore on 12 April 1895. It was the first bank that, during the British era, was entirely controlled by the Indian people with Indian wealth. Its head office is located in New Delhi, India.

The bank has almost 180 million customers, 10,910 branches and 13,000 + ATMs, starting from 1 April 2020, after the merger with the United Bank of India & Oriental Bank of Commerce. It offers a full range of financial products & services, including corporate, personal, foreign and capital services, in various categories.

International PNB branches

• With seven branches, PNB has a banking subsidiary in the UK, which is PNB International Bank.
• PNB owns branches in Kowloon, Hong Kong, Dubai & Kabul.
• It has representative offices in Kazakhstan (Almaty), the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), China (Shanghai), Norway(Oslo) and Australia (Sydney).
• PNB holds 51% of Druk PNB Bank in Bhutan, which has five branches.
• PNB holds 20% of Everest Bank Limited in Nepal, which has 50 branches.
• In Kazakhstan, PNB holds 41.64 % of JSC (SB) PNB Bank, four branches.

A brief history of PNB

• Under the Indian Companies Act in Lahore, PNB was established on 19 May 1984.
• It was established by Lala Lajpat Rai, Lala Harkishan Lal, Dyal Singh Majithia, Shri E.C. Jessawala, Shri Kali Prasanna Roy, Shri Prabhu Dayal & the leaders of the Swadeshi movement.
• In her early days, Lala Lajpat Rai was deeply concerned with managing the bank.
• It started its operation in Lahore on 12 April 1895 &, in 1904, established branches in Karachi & Peshawar.
• PNB purchased Bhagwan Dass Bank Limited in 1939 & acquired the Universal Bank of India in 1961.
• The government of Burma nationalizes the PNB in the 1963 Ragoon branch.
• In 1965, after the Indo-Pak War. Pakistan’s governament has confiscated Indian banks’ offices based in Pakistan, such as the PNB headquarters.
• In 1969, on 19 July, the Government of India nationalized PNB.
• PNB opened its first branch in London in 1978.
• In 1988, Hindustan Commercial Bank Limited was acquired by PNB.
• In 1993, the New Bank of India was purchased and nationalized by the Indian government In 1980.
• In 1998, the PNB opened a registered office in Kazakhstan’s Almaty.
• In 2003, Nedungadi Bank Ltd., situated in Kozhikode, was purchased by PNB. Many of this bank’s branches are now operating as PNB branches.
• PNB opened a branch in Uttarakhand in 2006 and linked up with Indian Airlines to book flight tickets online.
• PNB entered into an Internet trading partnership arrangement in 2008 with NSBL (Networth Stock Broking Ltd).
• It purchased a 33 percent stake in Metlife in 2011.