Muthoot Pappachan Group, also known as Muthoot Blue, is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

financial services conglomerate founded in 1887 by Ninan Mathai Muthoot. Headquartered in

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, the group has a workforce of more than 26,000 employees across 4,200 branches in India. Apart from financial services, the group has business interests in hospitality, automotive dealerships, real estate, healthcare, IT services, precious metals, alternate energy, and security services.

History

The family business was founded in 1887 by Muthoot Ninan Mathai in

Kozhencherry Kozhencherry ( ml, കോഴഞ്ചേരി) is a census town in Pathanamthitta district of Central Travancore region (South Central Kerala) in Kerala state, India. census, the population was 433,357 people in 92,825 households. History Kozh ...

. Mathai initially traded in timber and food grains, supplying rations to large British-run plantations. In 1939, the group established banking and finance services to provide immediate financial assistance to customers in rural and non-rural areas through easy secured loans. Post-independence, the demand for credit increased as individuals discovered their household gold as a safe and convenient means to get credit. Mathai then moved into the gold loan business. In 1979, the business was split among the founder’s three surviving sons. The eldest son,

M. George Muthoot Mathai George Muthoot (4 February 1911 – 31 January 1993) was an Indian entrepreneur and businessman, prominent for his pioneering work in the South Indian financial sector. He is the father of M. G. George Muthoot and G. Alexander Muthoot ...

, moved out of

and set up

Muthoot Finance Muthoot Finance Ltd is an Indian financial corporation and the largest gold loan NBFC in the country. In addition to financing gold loans, the company offers other forms of loans, insurance and money transfer services, and sells gold coins. ...

. The youngest son, Mathew M. Thomas, also known as Muthoot Pappachan, then incorporated Muthoot Pappachan Group.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Companies based in Thiruvananthapuram Indian companies established in 1887 Conglomerate companies established in 1887 Conglomerate companies of India