Bank of British West Africa

Bank of British West Africa

Company type	Financial institution
Industry	Banking
Founded	1893
Founder	Alfred Lewis Jones, George William Neville
Defunct	1965
Fate	Acquired by Standard Bank and renamed Standard Bank of West Africa
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Area served	West Africa, including Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria

Bank of British West Africa (BBWA) was a British Overseas financial institution instrumental in establishing modern banking within the United Kingdom’s West African territories. In 1957, it changed its name to Bank of West Africa and was subsequently acquired by Standard Bank in 1965.

History

• 1891 — Banking initiatives along the Guinea coast were launched by Elder Dempster shipping leader Alfred Lewis Jones and his associate George William Neville.
• 1892 — The African Banking Corporation took over Elder Dempster’s operations in Lagos but sold them back to A.L. Jones and Elder Dempster within one year.
• 1893 — BBWA was founded with Elder Dempster’s assistance, assuming control of the former ABC Lagos business; branches were established in Liverpool, London, and Manchester.
• 1894 — Elder Dempster became BBWA’s agents in Freetown and Bathurst; BBWA also acquired ABC’s branch in Tangier.
• 1896 — A branch opened in Accra, Ghana, where BBWA became the exclusive distributor of silver currency, effectively functioning as a Central Bank. The bank expanded significantly throughout the Gold Coast, including Sekondi (1902), Obuasi (agency 1905, branch 1909), and Kumasi (1906), securing a leading position in Ghanaian commercial banking.
• 1898 — Established a branch in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
• 1902 — Opened a branch in Bathurst, The Gambia.
• c.1910 — Launched a branch in Tenerife, Canary Islands.
• 1912 — BBWA integrated the operations of the Bank of Nigeria, strengthening its market presence.
• 1915 — Opened a branch in Douala, The Cameroons following the Anglo-French military campaign.
• 1916 — Closed Douala branch due to French administration; inaugurated an agency in New York.
• 1918 — Established a branch in Alexandria, Egypt.
• 1919 — Lloyds Bank along with three other institutions became shareholders.
• 1912–1923 — Reopened branches in Douala and Cairo; New York agency was transferred to Standard Bank; Lloyds Bank handed over Egyptian activities to National Bank of Egypt by 1926.
• 1930–1940 — Most branches in Morocco, Canary Islands, and Fernando Po were closed.
• c.1937 — Opened a branch in Hamburg, Germany.
• 1953 — Lost its central banking functions in Ghana after the government created the Bank of the Gold Coast.
• c.1954 — Closed Hamburg branch following its post-war reopening.
• 1957 — Adopted the name Bank of West Africa (BWA).
• 1963 — Shut down Tangier branch.
• 1965 — Standard Bank acquired BWA and renamed it Standard Bank of West Africa; also took over Liberian and Nigerian branches from Chase Manhattan for a 15% stake which was later divested. Continued operations within Cameroons and Morocco.
• 1969 — Standard Bank merged with Chartered Bank forming Standard Chartered Bank; divested Ghanaian, Nigerian, and Sierra Leonean units:
  • 1985 — Ghanaian operations rebranded as Standard Chartered Bank Ghana.
  • 1971–1979 — Partial Nigerian ownership localization led to renaming as First Bank of Nigeria; Standard Chartered fully exited by 1996 but re-entered Nigeria with a new subsidiary in 1999.
  • Sierra Leone activities trace back to BBWA’s agent appointment in 1894.
• 1969–1974 — Closed all inherited Cameroon branches (Douala, Victoria).
• By 1974 — SBWA maintained only two branches in The Gambia; these were transferred to Standard Bank Gambia Ltd in 1978. Until 2002, Standard Chartered Gambia remained the sole banking institution operating within The Gambia.

See also

• Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale

Sources

• Baster, A.S.J. 1926/1977. The Imperial Banks. (New York: Reissued by Arno Press).
• Fry, Richard. 1976. Bankers in West Africa: the story of the Bank of British West Africa Limited. (London: Hutchinson).