Amol Agrawal on the Bankers who Built Modern India

Today my guest is Amol Agrawal, who is the author of History of Private Banking in South Canara District (1906-69). He teaches economics at Ahmedabad University and blogs at the excellent blog Mostly Economics. 

We spoke about the colonial and post-colonial history of banking in India, the unique features of the South Canara district, and its bankers, inclusive banking by state and private banks, bank nationalization, and much more. 

Recorded July 26th, 2024.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:21) - History of Private Banking in India

(00:12:06) - Lending and Deposits

(00:16:17) - Industrial Development and Banking

(00:21:24) - Bank Runs in India

(00:25:54) - Success of South Canara Banks

(00:28:38) - Systemic Risk in South Canara

(00:36:16) - Banking Castes?

(00:40:29) - What was the RBI so wrong about with South Canara banking?

(00:47:50) - Pigmy Deposit Scheme

(01:05:28) - Why Were India’s Banks Nationalized?

(01:23:35) - Outro