Commonwealth Bank of Australia

The Commonwealth Bank was founded under the Commonwealth Bank Act in 1911 and commenced operations in 1912, empowered to conduct both savings and general banking business. Today, we’ve grown to a business with more than 800,000 shareholders and 52,000 people working in the Commonwealth Bank Group. We offer a full range of financial services to help all Australians build and manage their finances.Australia’s first banks were established early in the 19th century, either as private companies or as partnerships. Government banks, created and guaranteed by colonial (later state) governments, were established to promote land settlement and rural development, and to accept savings deposits.

It was in this tradition that, in 1911 (a decade after the Australian Colonies federated), Andrew Fisher’s Labor Government decided to establish a government bank for the newly formed nation. In the succeeding decades, many State Government banks established in the 19th century were amalgamated into the Commonwealth Bank, most recently the State Bank of Victoria (1990) and, via the Colonial merger in 2000, the Rural Bank successor to the (Government) Savings Bank of NSW.Many significant banking developments occurred throughout the 1960s. The Commonwealth Bank celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1962, Saturday morning trading ceased, employment of part-time staff began and improved career opportunities for women became available. Decimal currency, Christmas Club Accounts, personal loans and variations on traditional savings accounts were introduced.On 26 August 1990, the Commonwealth Bank entered into an agreement with the Treasurer of Victoria for a merger with the State Bank of Victoria (SBV). The Commonwealth Bank became the successor in law to SBV on 1 January 1991, creating Australia's largest domestic bank and further strengthening the Commonwealth Bank's leadership in retail branch banking.

he Commonwealth Bank Documentation and Archives Centre serves our internal needs and supplies information to the public about the organisation’s history and operations. The centre houses information about the Commonwealth Bank and other financial institutions whose archives have come to us as a result of amalgamations (including Colonial Mutual Limited and the Rural Bank of New South Wales). Sources of information include: Annual reports and other publications (including brochures, posters and advertising materials) Records about the Commonwealth Bank’s current and former properties Records about our organisational structure and staffing Photographs of people, events and buildings Ledgers, registers and commercial records Memorabilia including currency, uniforms, furniture, safes, moneyboxes and gold scales An archive of employee magazines, corporate history files, terms and conditions, product disclosure statements and circulars Film, video, and other fragile audio-visual materials. For a detailed description of the Documentation and Archives Centre, download the summary guide. You can contact the centre by Email, Phone or Fax. Material that cannot be easily transmitted by Email or Fax may be consulted on site by prior arrangement. Commonwealth Bank Documentation and Archive Centre 133-141 Liverpool Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Phone: (612) 9101 7225 Fax: (612) 9101 7232 Email: archives@cba.com.au