First National Bank (FNB)

Logo from 2022
An FNBbranch.
Company type	Division
Traded as	JSE:FSR
Industry	Banking
Founded	1838; 187 years ago (1838)
Headquarters	Johannesburg
Area served	South Africa,Botswana,Namibia
Key people	Harry Kellan (CEO)[1]
Products	Financial services
Revenue	R 127 billion (2024[2])
Net income	R 39.7 billion (2024[2])
Total assets	US$131.3 billion (2024[2])
Number of employees	40,000 (2024[3])
Parent	FirstRand
Website	www.fnb.co.za

First National Bank (FNB;Afrikaans:Eerste Nasionale Bank (ENB)) is one ofSouth Africa's "big four" banks. It is a division ofFirstRand, a large financial servicesconglomerate, which trades on theJohannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), under the symbol:FSR. FNB is also listed on theBotswana Stock Exchange under the symbolFNBB and is a constituent of theBSE Domestic Company Index.

FNB is one of the three major divisions of theFirstRand Group, and the others beingRand Merchant Bank and Wesbank. First National Bank maintains banking subsidiaries which it owns wholly or in part, inBotswana,Mozambique,Namibia,South Africa,Eswatini,Tanzania,Zambia,Ghana,India,Lesotho andGuernsey. FNB is also actively pursuing expansion plans inAngola andNigeria.^[4] Media reports in May 2012 indicated that the bank is also making plans to expand intoKenya,Rwanda andUganda.^[5]

FNB is the oldest bank in South Africa. It traces its origins back to theEastern Province Bank, which was formed inGrahamstown in 1838.[1] At that time the bank financed the wool export boom in the district. By 1874, the bank had four branches – at Grahamstown,Middelburg,Cradock andQueenstown. Due to a recession the bank was bought out in 1874 by theOriental Bank Corporation (OBC). However, as a result of financial difficulties that the Oriental Bank Corporation was experiencing inIndia, it decided to withdraw from South Africa and thus theBank of Africa was formed in 1879 to take over the OBC's business in South Africa.

At about the same time, the government of theSouth African Republic desired to create a local commercial bank, due to the discovery of gold inBarberton and theWitwatersrand. 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. TheNationale 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 theSecond Anglo-Boer War in 1902, the name of this bank was changed to theNational Bank of South Africa Limited.

Due to another recession, theBank of Africa was bought out by theNational Bank in 1912, which had already bought out another bank, theNational Bank of the Orange River Colony in 1910. TheNatal Bank, which was founded in 1854 to fund theNatal Colony'ssugar industry, also suffered financial difficulties and was taken over in 1914. By this time, theNational Bank was now one of the strongest and largest banks inSouth Africa.

However, by the early 1920s, theNational Bank was suffering from bad debt and heavy losses. It consequently merged with theAnglo-Egyptian Bank and theColonial Bank in 1925 to formBarclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas).^[6] In 1971 Barclays restructured its operation and its South Africa operation was renamedBarclays National Bank Limited.^[7]

Due to adisinvestment campaign against South Africa because of itsapartheid 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" on 30 September 1987 and became a wholly South African owned and controlled byAnglo-American Corporation.^[7]

The FirstRand Group was established in 1998, by the merger of banking interests of theAnglo-American banking interests. First National Bank of South Africa, Rand Merchant Bank and Momentum Insurance & Asset Management where brought under the group control.FirstRand is listed as a "locally controlled bank" by theSouth African Reserve Bank, the national banking regulator.^[8] In 2011, the group had total assets valued at US$90.3+ billion (ZAR:698 billion)^[9] with subsidiaries in sevensub-Saharan countries and inAustralia andIndia. Expansion plans in another six African countries were underway. By 2025, total assets had of the group had grown to 2.59 trillion rand (approximately, USD144 billion at 2025 exchange rates).^[10]

In 1999, the First National Bank was mentioned in the 'Ciex Report' that summarised a two-year long investigation into a loan issued by the South African Reserve Bank to Bankorp (a bank later taken over byABSA).^[11] Other banks were drawn into the controversy. Supporters of the CIEX Report characterised this as the theft of R26 billion from the state during the apartheid era. A specific allegation is that FNB unlawfully received hundreds of millions of Rands from the SARB, disguised as 'lifeboats' for covering bad loans.^[12]The thenPublic Protector,Busisiwe Mkhwebane, issued a report which in essence validated the CIEX report and ordered the Reserve Bank to take remedial action.^[13] However, the Reserve Bank took the report on review to the high court, which set aside the report and ordered Mkhwebane to pay the costs of the Reserve Bank in her personal capacity^[14] (by the time the matter came to court Mkhwebane had consented to the report being set aside, and argued only that costs should not be awarded against her personally). The Constitutional Court confirmed the decision of the high court to set aside the Public Protector's report unanimously, and by a majority that Mkhwebane should pay costs personally.^[15] The mishandling of this case was one of the factor's that led to Mkhwebane's impeachment.^[16] Despite these findings, the controversy was revived after major South African Banks closed the bank accounts ofSekunjalo group companies. Sekunjalo and newspapers that it owns criticised these banks on many grounds, including their alleged malfeasance in this case.^[17]

During September 2015 it was reported in theSunday Times that FNB stated "a small number" of safety deposit boxes were stolen from the Sunnyside branch inPretoria.

Later in the same year, 360 boxes were stolen in a daring overnight break-in at theRandburg,Johannesburg branch.

On New Year's Eve, the third and final break-in occurred at the FNBParktown branch. It was reported at the time that the value was approximately R1.7 Million out of 30 deposit boxes in the branch.^[18]

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.^[19]

• FirstRand
• Wesbank
• Absa Bank Limited
• Standard Bank
• List of banks in South Africa
• Economy of South Africa

Wikimedia Commons has media related toFirst National Bank (South Africa).

• Official FNB website
• Website of FirstRand LimitedArchived 2012-05-21 at theWayback Machine
• FNB Bank Branch Codes

• Banks of South Africa
• Companies based in Johannesburg
• Banks established in 1838
• 1838 establishments in the Cape Colony
• FirstRand
• Companies in the BSE DCI

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