South Indian Bank was registered as a private Limited Company under the companies Act of 1913 and commenced business on 29-01-1929 at Round South, Thrissur. The South Indian Bank Ltd., was formed by a group of 44 enterprising men of Thrissur who contributed Rs.500/ - each to the initial paid up capital of Rs.22,000/ -. Their main objective was to serve the merchant community of Thrissur by freeing them from the clutches of the money lenders who charged exorbitant rates of interest.The bank received very good support from the public at large. Initially the growth was slow but steady. The number of branches opened each year testified its stability and popularity. It was included in the second schedule of the Reserve Bank of India and became a scheduled Bank on 07-08-1946. SIB was the first scheduled Bank in the private sector in Kerala to get the license under section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act 1949 from RBI on 17-06-1957.
The bank, as part of a global brand-building exercise, has signed South Indian actor Mammootty as its brand ambassador banking on the film star's `pan India appeal, clean image and popularity among the NRI community'. The initial contract between the bank and actor was for three years which was later extended for five more years. Currently SIB is the only bank in South India that has a brand ambassador.
Till date, the bank has covered more than 100 villages and 15 urban centres under Financial Inclusion and opened more than 10 exclusive FLC Centres in the bank premises, which spreads across the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. South Indian Bank has appointed direct Business Correspondents in the allotted villages and are supervised by a dedicated team of officers in the FIP Cell - Head Office.