Collection GB 0074 CLC/B/207-6 - EASTERN BANK LIMITED: MUNDHRA LOAN

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0074 CLC/B/207-6

Title

EASTERN BANK LIMITED: MUNDHRA LOAN

Date(s)

  • 1953-1971 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

21 production units.

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

The Eastern Bank Limited was founded in London as a limited company at the end of 1909 as a new Eastern 'exchange' bank, to help finance trade with the East. As well as the Head Office in London, which exercised close day-to-day control, it had two overseas branches. established in 1910 in Bombay and Calcutta. From the start the Bank had a number of powerful institutional shareholders, including the Eastern trading house, E D Sassoon.

In the mid 1950s the Calcutta branch of the bank made several loans to the Mundhra group of companies, owned by Haridas Mundhra. The group included the Brahmapootra Tea Company (India) Limited; Osler Electric Lamp Manufacturing Company Limited; F&C Osler (India) Limited; Richardson & Cruddas Limited; and the British India Corporation.

Haridas Mundhra borrowed in excess of a quarter of a million pounds from Eastern Bank, and subsequently underwent civil and criminal prosecution in India. The manager of the Calcutta branch resigned, and was prosecuted in India for falsifying stautory banking returns. The total loss to Eastern Bank was around £750, 000.

Archival history

GB 0074 CLC/B/207-6 1953-1971 Collection 21 production units. Eastern Bank Ltd

The Eastern Bank Limited was founded in London as a limited company at the end of 1909 as a new Eastern 'exchange' bank, to help finance trade with the East. As well as the Head Office in London, which exercised close day-to-day control, it had two overseas branches. established in 1910 in Bombay and Calcutta. From the start the Bank had a number of powerful institutional shareholders, including the Eastern trading house, E D Sassoon.

In the mid 1950s the Calcutta branch of the bank made several loans to the Mundhra group of companies, owned by Haridas Mundhra. The group included the Brahmapootra Tea Company (India) Limited; Osler Electric Lamp Manufacturing Company Limited; F&C Osler (India) Limited; Richardson & Cruddas Limited; and the British India Corporation.

Haridas Mundhra borrowed in excess of a quarter of a million pounds from Eastern Bank, and subsequently underwent civil and criminal prosecution in India. The manager of the Calcutta branch resigned, and was prosecuted in India for falsifying stautory banking returns. The total loss to Eastern Bank was around £750, 000.

The Eastern Bank archives, part of the archives of Standard Chartered Bank, were deposited in the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library at various dates after August 1989, when Standard Chartered discontinued its in-house archive service. GL Ms 39015/1-3, comprising three bundles of correspondence, and Ms 39037, comprising one bundle of circulars of specimen signatures, were presented to the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library by Barclays Bank Group Archives in May 2000 and February 2001. The Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section merged with the London Metropolitan Archives in 2009.

Papers of the Eastern Bank Limited relating to the Mundhra Loan, including correspondence; Board memoranda, news cuttings and correspondence relating to the Mundhra Group; memoranda, progress reports, statistics and legal papers regarding Brahmapootra Tea Company (India) Limited and the Osler Electric Lamp Manufacturing Company Limited; and correspondence with Chartered Bank regarding the Mundhra Group.

Access to the archives is subject to a 45 year rule, with a 70 year rule for records containing personally sensitive information. In addition, all records are held off-site, and require at least 24 hours notice for access.

Records arranged by MS number, assigned during cataloguing at the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section.

Access by appointment only. Please contact staff.

Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.

English

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

For the main records of Eastern Bank see CLC/B/207-5.

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

January to May 2011. Information sources Documents Business records Finance Financing Loans People People by occupation Business people Bank employees Bankers Business practice and regulation Business management Management Overseas banks Banks Financial institutions Banking Eastern Bank Ltd India South Asia Occupations

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

The Eastern Bank archives, part of the archives of Standard Chartered Bank, were deposited in the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library at various dates after August 1989, when Standard Chartered discontinued its in-house archive service. GL Ms 39015/1-3, comprising three bundles of correspondence, and Ms 39037, comprising one bundle of circulars of specimen signatures, were presented to the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library by Barclays Bank Group Archives in May 2000 and February 2001. The Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section merged with the London Metropolitan Archives in 2009.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers of the Eastern Bank Limited relating to the Mundhra Loan, including correspondence; Board memoranda, news cuttings and correspondence relating to the Mundhra Group; memoranda, progress reports, statistics and legal papers regarding Brahmapootra Tea Company (India) Limited and the Osler Electric Lamp Manufacturing Company Limited; and correspondence with Chartered Bank regarding the Mundhra Group.

Access to the archives is subject to a 45 year rule, with a 70 year rule for records containing personally sensitive information. In addition, all records are held off-site, and require at least 24 hours notice for access.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Records arranged by MS number, assigned during cataloguing at the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Access by appointment only. Please contact staff.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

For the main records of Eastern Bank see CLC/B/207-5.

Finding aids

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

London Metropolitan Archives

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area