India, June 7 -- Historically, Lucknow never emerged as a bustling financial hub or a vibrant marketplace. Nevertheless, the city's significance - geographical, political and cultural - ensured that it played host to a variety of financial institutions as they came into being during the British colonial era. The Bank of Calcutta, established in 1806, was ironically set up to finance Britain's military campaigns against Tipu Sultan and the Marathas. Being the 10th oldest bank in British India, it was later rebranded as Bank of Bengal in 1809. More than a century later, Lucknow - then under colonial rule, was duly provided a branch of this bank. Interestingly, although the bank had been assured leased premises in the Taaron Wali Kothi (the Observatory), it was later discovered that due to a clerical oversight, the lease had been made over to another party. Consequently, the bank had to wait for one full year to occupy the premises, after the faulty lease had expired. The Bank of Bengal metamorphosed into the Imperial Bank of India (together with Bank of Bombay and Bank of Madras, the other Presidency banks) in 1921, and became the State Bank of India in 1955. Earlier, the Oudh Commercial Bank or Awadh Commercial Bank had been established in 1881 in Faizabad, which remained functional till 1958. It was the first commercial bank in India having limited liability and an entirely Indian board of directors. Being a small bank, it had no branches and served only local needs. Before its collapse, it had acquired the Bank of Rohilkund, representing a step towards the development of indigenous financial institutions, without the role of London or Calcutta in the scheme of things. The mention of London brings to one's mind The Delhi & London Bank, established in 1844 as The Delhi Banking Corporation, although it was registered in London under the Companies Acts of 1862 and 1867 and its head office also remained in London. In India, it had no less than 31 branches - its Lucknow branch operating from a building in Hazratganj as 'Delhi Bank' near present-day Halwasiya court. In 1916, the Indian branches merged into the Alliance Bank of Simla, and the London branch was bought by the Boulton brothers. As per the age-old saying, 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' - the Alliance Bank failed in 1923, seemingly due to mismanagement. At the time of its collapse, it had 36 branches all over British India, from Rangoon to Peshawar and of course, Lucknow. Subsequently, the Imperial Bank of India (discussed above) took over the assets and control of Alliance Bank, headquartered at Simla. Meanwhile, the story of WW Boulton and RGH Boulton or 'the Boulton brothers' above, although not directly connected with Lucknow, was equally tragic. In addition to their failed association with Alliance Bank, they acted as managing agents and were involved in agency business, including investment, property sales, and, notably, the management of industrial firms in India, such as the New Victoria Mills Co Ltd in Cawnpore (Kanpur). It appears that prolonged litigation, speculation, fraudulent transactions and the failed relationship with Alliance forced them to opt for voluntary liquidation in 1924. The Allahabad Bank was founded in 1865 at Allahabad. By the end of the 19th century, it had branches in Calcutta, Delhi, Kanpur and several other cities. At Lucknow, it was housed in its own spacious premises in Hazratganj, facing the Imperial Post Office (now GPO), which is extant today. In 1920, it was acquired by a business entity called P&O, but it operated Allahabad Bank separately and not with its other ventures, which were primarily focussed on the navigation sector. For operational reasons and better business opportunities, the bank moved its head office and registered office from Allahabad to Calcutta in 1923. The ownership of the bank changed hands once again, when the Chartered Bank acquired it in 1927. Post Independence, it was nationalised in July 1969, along with 19 other banks. However, despite its tumultuous journey and multiple ownerships, the name of 'Allahabad' persisted for this bank, till its amalgamation with Indian Bank in the year 2020. In addition to the above, at least two more Lucknow-based private banks were operating during colonial rule. These were The Oudh Banking Corporation Ltd and The Agarwal Bank Ltd, the latter having its office on Hewett Road (present-day Shivaji Marg), with the motif of Goddess Lakshmi. However, no details are available on The Oudh Banking Corporation Ltd other than an old cheque of the bank dated December 1865, indicating that the bank had been in existence in Lucknow during 1865 or earlier. This brought it at par with the other post-1857, British-era banks of Lucknow. PC Sarkar, a former scientist, has authored several books on the forgotten heritage of Lucknow...