Delhi, : Punjab National Bank (PNB) paid humble tribute to the freedom fighter Shri Lala Lajpat Rai on his 93rd death anniversary. He played an instrumental role in founding the present-day PNB in 1894 and was the first to open an account with the Bank.
The Executive Directors of PNB – Shri Vijay Dube, Sri Swarup Kumar Saha and Shri Kalyan Kumar, along with Chief Vigilance Officer – Shri V.K Tyagi, General Manager – Shri Rajeev Kumar, senior executives and staff members paid utmost respect to Sh. Lala Lajpat Rai by garlanding his bust at the Bank’s headquarter in New Delhi.
Lalaji, fondly remembered as the “The Lion of Punjab” or “Punjab Kesari” was actively associated with the management of the Bank in its early years. Under his leadership, PNB became the first ‘Swadeshi’ Bank ever to begin operations, solely on Indian capital – an impressive credential till date.
The founding board was drawn from across India, consisting of different faiths with the common objective of establishing a truly national bank to further the country’s economic interest. Today, PNB is the leading public sector bank in the country post-merger with erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce and erstwhile United Bank of India.