Nagarathars, (also known as Chettiars), were an important trading class of 19th and 20th century South East Asia and spread to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malayasia, Singapore, Java, Sumatra, and Ho Chi Minh City.
•
Banks established by Chettiars include the now defunct Bank of Chettinad, and the now ICICI merged Bank of Madura founded by Karumuttu Thiagarajan Chettiar (an architect par excellence, textile don, highly principled educationist and philanthropist), Indian Overseas Bank founded by Shri.