By Venkatachari Jagannathan Chennai, Sep 28 : With Lord Venkataramana Swamy at Thanthonimalai near Karur being the first shareholder, he will not let down the Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB), said K.R.Pradeep one of the promoters. "The shareholder folio number 1 is in the name of the Lord Venkataramana Swamy the presiding deity at the famed temple in Thanthonimalai (in Tamil Thanthondrimalai -- mountain that appeared on its own)," Pradeep told IANS. He said, the Lord will protect the bank and will not let it go down. Pradeep was one of the seven Directors of the bank who was voted out by shareholders in the annual general meeting held on September 25, 2020. A chartered accountant by profession, Pradeep based in Bangalore said the LVB came into existence in 1926 as an Indian answer to the Imperial Bank of India that was set up by the Britishers in 1921. The LVB was founded by a group of seven businessmen in Karur under the leadership of V.S.N. Ramalinga Chettiar. The mission was to cater to the financial needs of the people in and around the textile city of Tamil Nadu, Karur involved in various trading businesses, industries and agriculture. According to Pradeep, the bank catered to small regional businessmen and such banks will always go through a cycle, he added. In 2014 the bank moved its corporate office to Chennai. With huge losses, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2019 brought LVB under the Prompt and Corrective Action (PCR) fold. /IANS