A solid foundation
The earlier foundational entities of the Nedbank Historical Collective hold the underpinnings to both Nedbank’s history, and the history of banking in southern Africa. These entities, being the Cape of Good Hope Savings Society (1831), the South African Association for the Administration and Settlement of Estates (1834), the Board of Executors (1838), the Syfrets Trust Company Ltd (1851), the General Estate and Orphan Chamber (1856), the Natal Building Society (1882), De Stellenbossche Distriksbank (1882) and the Kimberley Permanent Mutual Building and Investment Society (1883) paved the way, in their own ways, to the financial systems and banking processes that are so successful today.
1831 - 1888
Innovative, right from the start!
These entities started out by marching to the beat of their own drums, making waves and establishing themselves in a rapidly advancing ‘new world’.
Learn more about some of these early institutions here.
The Nederlandsche Bank story
Opened on the 6th of April 1888 , the Nederlandsche Bank en Credietvereeniging was founded in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, under royal charter. Following on from a plea directly to H.H. King Willem III for a South African agency of the bank, the first South African branch was opened in Church Street in Pretoria on the 1st of August 1888, with capital of £50,000.
Read the Nederlandsche Bank Story here.
Naming Nedbank
Over the past years, while we’ve changed our name and our faces a few times, we have remained true to our strong values and client-centric business.
1888 - 1903
De Nederlandsche Bank en Credietvereeniging
1903 - 1951
De Nederlandsche Bank en Credietvereeniging voor Zuid-Afrika
1951 - 1971
The Netherlands Bank of South Africa
1971 - 1989
Nedbank Ltd
1989 - 2005
Nedcor Ltd
2005 - Present
Nedbank Group Ltd
1888 - 1951
Entering the market
The 1st of August 1888 saw the establishment of a South African agency of the Amsterdam-based Nederlandsche Bank en Credietvereeniging opening its doors in Church Street, Pretoria. This was a phenomenal break-through for not only South Africa, but also for the humble bank as it began paving the road for Nedbank’s long and rich narrative through the history of 19th Century South Africa to today.
This marked the dawn of a new era, as at the time the only other true banks were the first state bank, Lombaard Bank (1792 – 1883), and the first private banks; Cape of Good Hope Bank (1831 -merged into Nedbank in 2003), and the Eastern Province Bank (1838 - merged into First National Bank after its registration as De Nationale Bank der Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek in 1891). This made us one of the first official banks in the country.
1964 - 1988
For people who are serious about money
The second-half of the 20th century was an accelerated period of growth and expansion for the bank. All this, whilst the global sanctions tightened their grip on the South African economy, The Netherlands Bank for South Africa persevered in remaining neutral and a-political, providing banking services and even then, using our financial expertise to do good for all South Africans.
In 1969, with the purchasing of the remaining 20% Dutch-owned sales of the NBSA from Mees en Hoop (Amsterdam), the Netherlands Bank of South Africa became 100% South African-owned.
Taking the [Banking] world by storm
Nedbank prides itself in its lengthy number of firsts. Arguably one of the most important of these happened in 1964. With the triumphant boom towards the future-fitting of the bank’s business operations through the efforts and ingenuity of the trio formed by Dr Bernard Holsboer, Gerry Muller and Albie Saayman who revolutionised the way not only the Netherlands Bank, but all banks did business with the introduction of computerised banking services to the South African banking industry.
Learn more about only just a few of the Nedbank Historical Collective’s ‘firsts’ here.
1990 - 1999
The dawn of democracy
As if there wasn’t enough reason to celebrate following the triumphant release of Nelson Mandela and the emergence of South Africa as a new and unified nation; Nedcor embarked on further firsts in global partnerships. These being the WorldWide Fund for Nature (WWF), The Arts & Culture Trust and the Sports Trust which still operate in earnest today as the Nedbank Affinities and continue to do good for the lives of everyday-South Africans and the environment.
Learn more about the Nedbank Affinities here.
2005 - 2011
One tree, many leaves
Like the fireworks heralding in the ‘New Millenium’, Nedcor rocketed through the stratosphere and continued expanding its reach and influence. By 2005, the newly-formed ‘Nedbank Group Ltd’ was constituted, and celebrated the additions of the Cape of Good Hope Bank, NBS Boland, The Perm, Pick ‘n Pay GO BANKING, and BoE, to name a few.
Emboldened by the ever-growing network of branches and clients, Nedbank began to make things happen into southern and central Africa, with the integration of branches from Namibia to Malawi through the complete merging with Ecobank by 2011.
Green before it was cool!
Nedbank opened the country’s first wind powered branch in the Western Cape town of Du Noon making it the first bank branch in the country to derive its energy from sustainable energy source. The new branch will be powered by wind turbines installed by Eveready Kestrel Wind Turbines that will generate some the electrical power that the branch will need to operate.
The opening of the Nedbank Du Noon Branch forms another example of the bank’s commitment to ensure that all South Africans have access to banking. The launch also ensures that Nedbank honours its promise to make financial services accessible, convenient, affordable and sustainable.
2012 - 2017
A chance to see money differently
With the introduction of a few new kids on the block joining the banking sector, it was the perfect opportunity for Nedbank to dust off a few cobwebs and re-invent our brand identity. Through liberating our ‘N’ from its circle and adopting a new purpose for our business that would always put our nation’s people and environment first.
2018 - 2022
Using our financial expertise to do good
There has been no better opportunity to showcase our unwavering dedication to ensuring our financial expertise is put to good use, than our first-off-the-mark involvement in the Youth Empowerment (YES) programme and being entrusted by South African Reserve Bank to curate the Venda Building Society, and facilitate all the necessary repayments to their depositors.
Learn more about Nedbank’s heritage and history
The Nedbank 135 Rivonia Road Campus in Sandton is home to the main Heritage Hub, which showcases an immersive experience into the bank’s nearly two centuries of history, as well as artefacts, numismatics, and time capsules.
For any further queries or information, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at HeritageArchives@nedbank.co.za.
Our history videos
The first instalment of a series of episodes that journey through the history of the Nedbank Historical Collective. Episode 1 looks at the first century of the Collective’s past, from 1831–1951, and positions the stories of the earliest facets of Nedbank Group's 20-strong compliment of entities.
Episode 2 dives into the story of our business through the years 1964–1988, looking at its growth and transformation in relation to the socioeconomic and political policies during apartheid. During this time, the Netherlands Bank for South Africa was still partially a Dutch-owned entity, and was able to remain neutral in a time of an oppressive societal regime. It was at this time that the NBSA introduced computerised banking to South Africa.
In the 3rd episode, the foundational premise of Nedbank’s philosophy, doing good, is explored as something we’ve done for many years. However, with the market segmentation of Perm and Peoples Bank during 1990–1999, we came off as an elitist bank. As we slowly began restoring our image, we introduced Cellphone Banking – a market first, followed by the country’s first debit card.
As the various entities and offerings under the Nedbank umbrella merged in 2005, episode 4 shares the birth of a redefined and inclusive bank – ensuring all South Africans were empowered to make things happen, with full and dedicated banking for all. This soon expanded, and Nedbank was able to set deep roots throughout the rest of Africa through the alliance with Ecobank, bringing Nedbank to over 600 branches across 44 countries.
In the 5th episode, Nedbank embarked on one of its biggest adventures yet and embraced the chance to see money differently, adopting a revitalised brand identity that echoed the bank’s deep-rooted aspiration to build a better tomorrow for Africa’s people and environment.
A new future was ushered in on the triumphant rebranding of Nedbank Group, which is carried by our promise of using our financial expertise to do good. Additionally, the adoption of a digital-first strategy led to the development and integration of a series of products and services at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which were able to keep our clients and employees safe. This included innovated hybrid-working strategies, and market-first cardless and handling-free payment methods.
