Saambou Bank was a South African
bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
that was founded in 1942 and was
liquidated
Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...
in 2006. At the time it went into receivership, Saambou Bank was the sixth-largest bank in the country.
History
Foundation and development
The bank was founded on June 12, 1942 under the name ''Unie Bouvereniging''. Shortly afterwards, the company took the name ''Saambou (Permanente) Bouvereniging''. In 1970 it merged with Nasionale Bouvereniging, creating ''Saambou Nasionale Bouvereniging''. They went public as ''Saambou Beherend'' in 1987 and traded under the name ''Saambou Bank''.
2002 - Bankruptcy
The bank went into
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
in February 2002 after newspaper articles speculated about it being bankrupt and customers withdrew R1 billion in two days. At the time it went into receivership, Saambou was the sixth-largest bank in the country. The
JSE Limited
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 200 ...
stopped trading in its shares that same year, and
First National Bank (South Africa)
First National Bank (FNB; af, Eerste Nasionale Bank (ENB)) is one of South Africa's " big four" banks. It is a division of FirstRand, a large financial services conglomerate, which trades on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), under the ...
took over some of its mortgage business.
2006 - Liquidation
The bank was finally liquidated in 2006. A dividend of R7.568 billion, or 4.53c per share, was paid out to shareholders. The share had traded at 203c per share before the bankruptcy.
Further reading
* Mbuya, John Chibaya. ''The Rise and Fall of Saambou Bank''. 2005. Mbuya Books. {{ISBN, 9780620288897.
References
Defunct banks of South Africa