The foundation of Dhanalakshmi Bank Limited was laid down on 14th November 1927, in the Thrissur district of Kerala. A group of innovative entrepreneurs had started the bank with a capital of Rs.11,000 and only 7 employees. Fifty years later, in the year 1977, it became a 'Scheduled Commercial Bank'. The bank’s Corporate Office, situated at Thrissur, and Industrial Finance Branch, located in Kochi, has been accredited with certification under ISO 9001-2000. A professionally managed bank, Dhanalakshmi Bank boasts of substantial sophistication in its banking services.

Branches & ATMs
Dhanalakshmi Bank boasts of a network of 181 branches and 26 Extension Counters, which have been spread over the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal. At the same time, it has installed 72 networked ATMs in all those centers where high banking activity takes place. The main aim behind this is to provide easy banking access to the clients.

Sometime back only, Dhanalakshmi Bank received Reserve Bank of India's nod for opening 66 branches and 380 ATMs, across India, in 2009. With this, the total customer outlets of Dhanalakshmi Bank will go up to 725, from the current 279. At the same time, it has been allowed, by the RBI, to open 5 Regional Offices in Kerala, at Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Kozhikode, apart from 2 Central Processing Centers at Thrissur and Hyderabad.

Financial Highlights
Till 31st March 2009, Dhanalakshmi Bank had serviced a business (subject to audit) of Rs. 8212 crores. In this were included Deposits of Rs.4969 crores and Advances of Rs. 3243 crores. In the nine-month period ending on 31st December 2008, the bank had made a profit of Rs. 35.20 crores, while, on the same date, its Capital Adequacy ratio was 14.33 percent and the outstanding amount under micro credit was Rs.130.55 crores.

Tech-Savvy Bank
Dhanalakshmi Bank is one of those financial institutions that have moved ahead with the changing times. It has used technology widely throughout its operations, with the aim of improving the quality of customer service. The Centralised Banking Solution (CBS) on the Flexcube Platform, offered by the bank in all of branches, allows its clients to reap the benefits of Anywhere/Anytime banking, through multiple delivery channels. The 'Data Centre' of Dhanalakshmi Bank, set up in Bangalore, keeps the networked system operational 24X7.

In keeping with the present times, Dhanalakshmi Bank has introduced tele-banking and Internet banking for its clients, at all the branches. At the same time, it has implemented centralized CMS software, with the CMS hub being located at the corporate office in Thrissur. Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) Systems, assisting large value payments and settlements in real time on-line mode on a transaction-by-transaction basis, are the other tech-savvy services offered by the bank.

Products & Services
Dhanalakshmi Bank, after its tie-up with M/s Visa International, has introduced an International Debit Card for its clients. As a part of the effort, it has also joined CASHNET - the first independent nation-wide shared ATM network in India, National Financial Switch (ATM network) of the IDRBT - promoted by Reserve Bank of India and Cash Tree. This has allowed its clients, access to more than 25,000 ATMs in India. The bank has also ventured into life insurance (through M/s. MetLife India) & non-life insurance (through M/s. Oriental Insurance Co).

Being a depository participant of NSDL (National Security Depository Limited), Dhanalakshmi Bank offers Demat services as well, though through selected branches only. The bank has set up NRI Boutiques (Relationship Centres) at 9 locations in Kerala and has plans of opening specialized NRI outlets soon. The tie-ups with UAE Exchange & Financial Services for Xpress Money and Moneygram, Wallstreet Finance for Wallstreet instant cash and Indusind Bank Limited for Zoha Inc ensure fast money transfer.