UCO Bank History
United Commercial Bank Ltd. was founded by industrialist GD Birla in 1943, who after the historic “Quit India” movement in 1942 wanted to start a ‘truly Indian bank’. The bank was nationalized in 1969, and thus was born United Commercial Bank. In 1985, the bank’s name was shortened to UCO Bank.
The bank’s logo has undergone metamorphosis through the ages. The 1943 logo had the Indian peninsula surrounded by the seas — this symbolized the vastness and unlimited scope of the bank. The hand with coins within the peninsula symbolized Goddess Lakshmi; the motor pump symbolized agricultural and industrial growth; the boat and ship in water on both the sides symbolized overseas trade to both the sides of the globe.
The 1958 logo of the bank had a lion, wheel, and an elephant taken from the Ashoka Pillar of Sarnath — this signified the Indian origins. The wavy water-line and the ship 1958 indicated that the river port, Kolkata, was the Head Office of the Bank. The ship represented commerce and the cog-wheels industry, both closely connected with banking. The lizard on the crest was taken from the flag of Kubera, the mythical God of Wealth, symbolized Money and Banking; the bezants on the right from the 15th-century Italian Bank of Medici symbolized lending and dealing with money.
The orange logo, adopted in 1973, had U with two hands upwards signifying progress. Orange — a mixture of red and yellow — had red’s dynamism, and yellow’s future and vibrancy. In 1983, an octagon with an inlaid square, and two uplifted hands with a coin in the middle were introduced. The coin in the hands signified security of the deposits, while the uplifted hands signified progress and aspirations. The color continued to be orange, conveying the warmth of cooperation, among other things.
In 1991, the color was changed to blue — a color that symbolized purity, and eternity, or integrity and continuity in the bank’s case.
Tagline: Honours Your Trust.
Did you know: The bank was associated with a comic series called Banktantra.
