Nedbank, 1945–89: The Continental Approach to Banking in South Africa

The South African banking scene has been dominated by British banks since the middle of the nineteenth century. Stronger political sentiments towards the Netherlands and Germany during and after the two South African wars with Britain, favoured the entry of Continental banking capital into the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. In 1888 the Netherlands banking company ‘De Nederlandsche Bank en Credietvereeniging’ (NB and CV) established the first Netherlands bank on South African soil. The Netherlands bank hoped to obtain the concession for the National Bank of the Transvaal republic, but it was granted to a German—Netherlands consortium, who eventually sold to Anglo-French interests. Despite this disappointment, the NB and CV remained in the Transvaal republic. With the formation of the South African Union in 1910, there were six major banks in the country: the National Bank of South Africa, the Standard Bank of South Africa, the Bank of Africa, The African Banking Corporation, the Netherlands Bank for South Africa and the local Stellenbosch District Bank.