Establishment of the Bank The South African Reserve Bank (the Bank) is the central bank of the Republic of South Africa. The Bank was established in 1921 in terms of a special Act of Parliament, the Currency and Banking Act of 1920 (the Act), and was the direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial conditions that had arisen during and in the period immediately following World War I. At that time central banks existed mainly in the United Kingdom and Europe. It is the oldest central bank in Africa and in the southern hemisphere.