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How it started
Foundation (1911–1919)
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia was established by the Commonwealth Bank Act 1911, introduced by the Andrew Fisher Labor government, which favoured bank nationalisation, with effect on 22 December 1911. In a rare move for the time, the bank was to have both savings and general bank business. The bank was also the first bank in Australia to receive a federal government guarantee. The bank's earliest and most strenuous proponent was the flamboyant American-Australian Labor politician King O'Malley, and its first governor was Sir Denison Miller.
The bank opened its first branch in Melbourne on 15 July 1912. In an agreement with Australia Post that exists to this day, the bank also traded through post office agencies. In 1912, it took over the State Savings Bank of Tasmania, and by 1913 it had branches in all six states.
In 1916, the bank moved its head office to Sydney. It also followed the Australian army into New Guinea, where it opened a branch in Rabaul and agencies elsewhere.
Central bank (1920–1959)
In 1920, the bank began acquiring central bank powers when it took over the responsibility for the issue of Australian bank notes from the Department of the Treasury. Also in 1920, the Commonwealth Bank took over the Queensland Government Savings Bank.
From Wikipedia’s article on Commonwealth Bank, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2