African Banking Corporation

The African Banking Corporation was a British overseas bank; its headquarters were 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. In 1920 the bank was bought out and merged with Standard Bank of South Africa.

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.

References

Orbell, John, and Alison Turton. 2001. British Banking: A Guide to Historical Records. (Aldershot: Ashgate).
Terry, Carolyn. 1978. The Desert Bankers: The Story of the Standard Bank in South West Africa. Cape Town: W.J. Flesch & Partners.
Terry, Carolyn. 1978. The Desert Bankers: The Story of the Standard Bank in South West Africa. Cape Town: W.J. Flesch & Partners.

v t e Banks of South Africa
Central bank	South African Reserve Bank
Big four commercial banks	Absa First National Bank Nedbank Standard Bank
Investment banks	Investec Rand Merchant Bank
Other	African Bank Bidvest Bank Capitec Bank Development Bank of Southern Africa FirstRand Grindrod Bank Imperial Bank South Africa Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa Postbank Sasfin Bank Ubank
Defunct	20Twenty African Banking Corporation Allied Bank Colesberg Bank NBS Permanent Bank Saambou Trustbank United Bank VBS Mutual Bank Volkskas

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