African Banking Corporation

African Banking Corporation was a British Overseas Bank, that is, it had a headquarters in London but all its branches were overseas. Unusually, it was a consortium bank (i.e., other banks jointly owned it), rather than being owned by individuals. It operated primarily in South Africa.[1] In 1920 the bank was bought out and merged with Standard Bank of South Africa.[2]

African Banking Corporation bank note issued between 1900-1920 in the Transvaal

History
  • In 1890 Lloyds Bank, National Provincial, Westminster, and Standard Bank of South Africa established the African Banking Corporation (ABC). ABC began its operations with a branch in Lagos, Nigeria.
  • In 1891 ABC acquired a number of banks in South Africa : Western Province Bank (est. 1847), Kaffrarian Colonial Bank (est. 1862), and Worcester Commercial Bank (est. 1850). That same year, it also established a branch in Tangier.
  • In 1892 ABC took over the banking operations in Lagos, Nigeria of shipping company Elder Dempster. George Neville of Elder Dempster became the branch manager, but within a year ABC wished to withdraw from Lagos.
  • In 1893 ABC sold its branch in Lagos to the newly created Bank of British West Africa (BBWA), established by A.L. Jones and Elder Dempster.
  • In 1894 ABC transferred the branches in Lagos and Tangier to BBWA.
  • In 1900, or possibly shortly thereafter, ABC established an agency in New York.
  • In 1915 ABC established a branch in Lüderitz Bay, South-West Africa, as South Africa took over German South-West Africa, but closed it the next year.
  • In 1920 ABC opened a branch in Windhoek, South-West Africa, but later that year Standard Bank of South Africa acquired ABC.[3]
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References
  1. Orbell, John, and Alison Turton. 2001. British Banking: A Guide to Historical Records. (Aldershot: Ashgate).
  2. Terry, Carolyn. 1978. The Desert Bankers: The Story of the Standard Bank in South West Africa. Cape Town: W.J. Flesch & Partners.
  3. Terry, Carolyn. 1978. The Desert Bankers: The Story of the Standard Bank in South West Africa. Cape Town: W.J. Flesch & Partners.
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