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Volkskas

South African bank (1934-1992)1

Volkskas Beperk (English: Peoples' Bank) was a South African bank founded in 1934 as a cooperative loan bank, becoming a commercial bank in 1941. In 1991, by which time it had become South Africa's largest Afrikaner bank, Volkskas merged with United Building Society, Allied Building Society and Trust Bank to form Amalgamated Banks of South Africa. The bank issued banknotes for circulation in South West Africa between 1949 and 1959 from its Windhoek branch.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1934Founded1
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Volkskas Beperk (English: Peoples' Bank) was a South African bank founded in 1934 as a cooperative loan bank, becoming a commercial bank in 1941. In 1991, by which time it had become South Africa's largest Afrikaner bank, Volkskas merged with United Building Society, Allied Building Society and Trust Bank to form Amalgamated Banks of South Africa.2

The story

Volkskas was formally opened on 1 February 1935 in the De Villiers building in Pretoria by J.J. Bosman and a typist. It was registered as a cooperative loan bank under the Co-Operative Societies Act and thus began serving Afrikaners forced by the Great Depression to move to the city between 1929 and 1933.

The bank was already registered on 9 July 1934 as Volkskas (Koöperatief) Beperk (i.e. "Limited"). The bank provided credit union services in which people could set up savings or deposit accounts, and clients could obtain bank loan installments against the signature of two friends or other approved security.

After four months in business, the bank turned a profit of R17.06. At this stage, the bank had no branches and two tellers. The first branch was opened on 1 August 1935, on Mark Street in Johannesburg. The premises on which the building stood were the first property owned by Volkskas.

From Wikipedia’s article on Volkskas, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

  • financial services

Listed on Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1934Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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