The advent of Savings bank service in Malaysia dates back to the late 19th century. The first banks, namely the Perak and the Selangor Savings Bank were started in 1888 and 1893 respectively and were administered by the respective State Treasuries until they were taken over by the Postal Department. In 1907 the Perak and Selangor Savings Banks were dissolved and brought under the Federated Malay States Post Office Savings Banks which also provided services in the states of Negeri Sembilan and Pahang. It had then 3,320 depositors with just over RM340,000 standing to their credit.

Separate Savings Bank services under the Straits Settlement Post Office Savings Bank were in existence in Penang, Malacca and Singapore as early as 1902 while the Unfederated Malay States had their own Post Office Savings Banks in the years prior to the Second World War.

Since 1949 savings with the Post Office Savings Bank have grown steadily. In 1949 it had 229,652 depositors with a credit balance of RM47.2 million. At the time of the launching of Bank Simpanan Nasional, Malaysia on 5th December 1974, it had more than 2.5 million depositors. The accumulated assets of the bank were over RM537 million, out of which over RM526 million were in government securities. The amount standing to the credit of depositors was over RM511 million. At the end of 1981, the Bank had more than 4.3 million depositors with accumulated assets of more than RM1.2 billion.

With the establishment of Bank Simpanan Nasional, a new chapter is opened in the history of public saving institutions in the country. Bank Simpanan Nasional Act, 1974 provides for the transfer of the powers of management from the Postal Services Department to the Board of Directors which will assume functions and undertake responsibilities in accordance with the objectives of the Act.

In its first year of operations since taking over the functions of the former Post Office Savings Bank on December 1, 1974, Bank Simpanan Nasional directed its effort at restructuring and streamlining its organization and simplifying procedures in order to provide improved facilities and services to its depositors. Towards this objective, the Bank has planned to decentralize the administration and control of its activities by setting up its own branch offices in major towns thoughtout the country. In areas where branch offices are not warranted, post offices and postal vans with savings bank facilities continued to be used to mobilize savings.

Meanwhile, intensive publicity campaigns to promote the savings habit and to encourage thrift and savings among the general public were conducted on a national scale. Regional promotional officers visited schools and business centre to publicize the services offered by the Bank and to encourage the people to save with it. In 1975, the Bank continued to serve its depositors through 526 post offices, including 135 postal mobile units, acting as agents for the Bank. Net deposits with the Bank in 1975 rose by 6.2 per cent or $32.5 million.

To promote and mobilize savings, particularly from small savers and to encourage thrift and the saving habit;

To provide means for savings by the general public;

To utilize the funds of the Bank for investments including financing economic development of the nation;

To assume the functions and responsibilities of the Post office Savings Bank; and

To promote the interest of its depositors and other customers.

The symbol of "coin tree" which forms the main theme of the logo is an adaptation from the "pohon pitis" (coin tree) made of tin metal bearing 13 coins issued by Sultan Muhammad IV of the State of Kelantan in 1903 when it was still a tributary state of Siam. On one side of the coin was inscribed "THURIBA FI ZUL-HIJJAH SANAT 1321" i.e. struck in the month of Zul-hijjah 1903 and on the reverse "BELANJAAN KERAJAAN KELANTAN", i.e. currency of the Government of Kelantan. The coin or "pitis", which in local Kelantanese dialect means money, was one of the denominations in circulation in Kelantan until 1920.

The coin symbolizes money savings and the tree signifies that savings grow in Bank Simpanan Nasional. Coins have been chosen to represent savings and denote particularly that Bank Simpanan Nasional is the People's Bank and that no amount is too small for the purpose of saving. Its objective to promote the virtue of thrift and to inculcate the habit of saving and caters equally for the small as well as the wealthy savers. The 13 coins represent the 13Malaysiaf Malaysia and describes a nation-wide service.