The role of banking development South African economic development during the period of functional stability 1850s‐1970s

The history of modern banking in Africa is in large part the story of banking in South Africa extending northwards and westwards, bringing best banking practice to regions that were either unbanked or under-banked. It was market driven. Politicians did not, in those days, direct what the banks must do, who they must employ, from whom they must procure their equity. In the nineteenth century, after 1850, the market reigned supreme in British ruled parts of Africa.