First National Bank (FNB; af, Eerste Nasionale Bank (ENB)) is one of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
's "
big four" banks. It is a division of
FirstRand, a large financial services
conglomerate
Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to:
* Conglomerate (company)
* Conglomerate (geology)
* Conglomerate (mathematics)
In popular culture:
* The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes
** ...
, which trades on the
Johannesburg Securities Exchange
JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...
(JSE), under the symbol: FSR. FNB is also listed on the
Botswana Stock Exchange
The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) is a stock exchange located in Gaborone, Botswana. The Botswana share market was established in 1989 and became the Botswana Stock Exchange in 1994. It is governed by thBotswana Stock Exchange Act
The BSE has 36 ...
under the symbol FNBB and is a constituent of the
BSE Domestic Company Index.
Overview
FNB is one of the three major divisions of the
FirstRand Group, and the others being
Rand Merchant Bank
FirstRand Limited, also referred to as FirstRand Group is the holding company of FirstRand Bank, and is a financial services provider in South Africa. It is one of the financial services providers licensed by the Reserve Bank of South Africa, ...
and Wesbank. First National Bank maintains banking subsidiaries which it owns wholly or in part, in
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
,
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
,
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
,
Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
,
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
,
Lesotho
Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population ...
and
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
. FNB is also actively pursuing expansion plans in
Angola
, national_anthem = "Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordinat ...
and
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
Media reports in May 2012, indicated that the bank is also making plans to expand into
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
,
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...
.
History
FNB is the oldest bank in South Africa. It traces its origins back to the ''Eastern triocrees Province Bank'', which was formed in
Grahamstown
Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London. Makhanda is the largest town in the Makana ...
in 1838. At that time the bank financed the wool export boom in the district. By 1874, the bank had four branches – at Grahamstown,
Middelburg,
Cradock and
Queenstown. Due to a recession the bank was bought out in 1874 by the
Oriental Bank Corporation (OBC). However, as a result of financial difficulties that the Oriental Bank Corporation was experiencing in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, it decided to withdraw from South Africa and thus the ''Bank of Africa'' was formed in 1879 to take over the OBC's business in South Africa.
At about the same time, the government of the
South African Republic
The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when i ...
desired to create a local commercial bank, due to the discovery of gold in
Barberton and the
Witwatersrand
The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...
. The government thus created a bank through a concession agreement. The task of the bank was to focus primarily on financing agricultural development. A state mint was also established as part of the concession. The ''Nationale Bank der Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek Beperk'' (National Bank of the South African Republic Limited) was registered in Pretoria in 1891 and opened for business on 5 April of the same year. After the conclusion of the
Second Anglo-Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
in 1902, the name of this bank was changed to the ''National Bank of South Africa Limited''.
Due to another recession, the ''Bank of Africa'' was bought out by the ''National Bank'' in 1912, which had already bought out another bank, the ''National Bank of the Orange River Colony'' in 1910. The
Natal Bank, which was founded in 1854 to fund the
Natal Colony
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to ...
's
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...
industry, also suffered financial difficulties and was taken over in 1914. By this time, the ''National Bank'' was now one of the strongest and largest banks in South Africa.
However, by the early 1920s, the ''National Bank'' was suffering from bad debt and heavy losses. It consequently merged with the ''
Anglo-Egyptian Bank'' and the ''
Colonial Bank'' in 1925 to form
Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
(Dominion, Colonial and Overseas).
In 1971 Barclays restructured its operation and its South Africa operation was renamed ''Barclays National Bank Limited''.
Due to a
disinvestment
Disinvestment refers to the use of a concerted economic boycott to pressure a government, industry, or company towards a change in policy, or in the case of governments, even regime change. The term was first used in the 1980s, most commonly in ...
campaign against South Africa because of its
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
policies, Barclays was forced to reduce its shareholding and sold its shareholding in the bank in 1986. The bank was renamed "First National Bank of Southern Africa Limited" in 1987 and became a wholly South African owned and controlled entity.
In 1998, the financial services interests (which included their shareholding in First National Bank) of ''Rand Merchant Bank Holdings'' and
Anglo-American Corporation were merged to form
FirstRand, which is listed on the
JSE Securities Exchange
JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...
. In consequence, FNB became a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstRand Limited; it currently trades as a division of
FirstRand Bank Limited.
In 1999 the First National Bank was mentioned in the 'Ciex Report' that summarised a two-year long investigation into the theft of R26 billion from the state during the apartheid era. The investigators claimed that FNB unlawfully received hundreds of millions of Rands from the SARB. The money was disguised as 'lifeboats' for covering bad loans. True to 2017 the stolen funds have yet to be recovered.
FirstRand Group
The FirstRand Group was established in 1998, by the merger of First National Bank of South Africa, Rand Merchant Bank and Momentum Insurance & Asset Management.
FirstRand is listed as a "locally controlled bank" by the
South African Reserve Bank
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920", as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial condi ...
, the national banking regulator. , the group had total assets valued at US$90.3+ billion (ZAR:698 billion) (2011) with subsidiaries in seven
sub-Saharan
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African co ...
countries and in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. Expansion plans in another six African countries are underway.
Controversies
Safety deposit box victims
During September 2015 it was reported in the
Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
that FNB stated "a small number" of safety deposit boxes where stolen from the Sunnyside branch in
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...
.
Later in the same year, 360 boxes were stolen in a daring overnight break-in at the
Randburg,
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
branch.
On New Year's Eve, the third and final break-in occurred at the FNB
Parktown branch. It was reported at the time that the value was approximately R1.7 Million out of 30 deposit boxes in the branch.
In 2018, reports surfaced that 60 victims were going ahead with a damages claim against First National Bank (South Africa) reported to amount to R121 Million.
See also
*
FirstRand
*Wesbank
*
Absa Bank Limited
Absa Bank Limited (ABL), formerly known as Amalgamated Banks of South Africa, is a commercial bank in South Africa. It is licensed by the Reserve Bank of South Africa, the central bank and national banking regulator.
Location
The bank's h ...
*
Standard Bank
*
List of banks in South Africa
This is a list of commercial banks in South Africa
Banks Locally controlled banks
* Absa Group Limited
* African Bank Limited
* Bidvest Bank Limited
* Capitec Bank Limited
* Discovery Limited
* First National Bank
* FirstRand Bank - A subsid ...
*
Economy of South Africa
The Economy of South Africa is the third largest in Africa and the most industrialized, technologically advanced, and diversified economy in Africa overall. South Africa is an upper-middle-income economy, one of only eight such countries in Africa ...
References
External links
Official FNB websiteWebsite of FirstRand Limited
{{Banks of South Africa
Banks of South Africa
Companies based in Johannesburg
Banks established in 1838
1838 establishments in the Cape Colony
FirstRand