mulans.com

Location: Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China

Opened: May 2015

Closed: Still open?

Not a lost space, but I don't consider that a hard and fast rule. Sometimes it's good to note up and coming womyn's spaces.

Contrary to what some may think, women's banks are an old idea made new again. We've posted on experiments in this area dating back to at least the beginning of the 20th century. For example, see here for information on the Berlin Women's Bank (1909-1915).

http://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html1/news/china/1505/484-1.htm

Shenzhen to Be Home to China's First Women-Only Online Bank

May 6, 2015

Editor: Kiki Liu

The logo of Shenzhen-based Mulan Investment Company, China's first investment and financial platform serving only female entrepreneurs [huodongxing.com]

Shenzhen, a coastal city of south China's Guangdong Province, announced on May 4, 2015 the founding of China's first online bank serving only women, after establishing the first female O2O (Online to Offline) financial platform — mulans.com — in September 2014.
Organized by the mulans.com financial platform, a conference centered on young pioneers was held by around 300 young entrepreneurs and company founders and coincided with China's Youth Day, which falls annually on May 4.
At the conference, the most notable agenda item was perhaps the founding of the first female online bank, named Mulan Bank after the Shenzhen-based Mulan Investment Company — the financial backbone of the new online bank.
According to the investment company, Mulan Bank — the first online bank of its kind in China — would provide its services only for women, especially female entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the Mulan Bank has promised to customers that its ultimate goal is to increase women's financial power with online services and consumption as their cores pillars.
In other words, the online bank will be rewriting a new chapter for the development of female entrepreneurs.
Actually, the investment company was originally founded as a pioneering organization focusing on women's start-ups, investments and financial management — a gathering place for female entrepreneurs and founders of great power or fame.
"We have embraced three brands based on the investment bank: Mulans, Mulan Pioneering and Investment, and then the Mulan Bank. That helps the investment bank to have far-reaching influence in China," explained Liu Aimin, the co-founder of the investment bank.

Berlin Women's Bank

Berlin 1914

Berlin Women's Bank

Location: Berlin, Germany

Opened: 1909

Closed: 1915

I've been combing through newspapers from the pre-World War I era lately, and I happened to come across this little gem.

It's from the Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, January 16, 1914 (Unfortunately, the google link function is not working):

WOMEN'S BANK CELEBRATES

Berlin's Unique Institution to Issue Financial Daily.

BERLIN, Jan. 15--The Berlin Women's Bank, which is believed to be the only bank in the world run for and by women exclusively, has completed five years of existence, and is to celebrate January 17.

A luncheon will be given with several hundred guests. One of the day's events will be the announcement that the bank has decided to issue the world's first financial daily for women. It will start with an edition of 20,000 which represents the bank's present list of shareholders and clients. The bank's assets are $250,000.

According to this article in the Milwaukee Sentinel, the Berlin Women's Bank was closed down by the authorities in April 1915.

This February 1914 New York Times article hints at some of the problems these women faced in making this effort succeed. In this particular instance, their attempt to get admission to the floor of the stock exchange was thwarted by the men and labeled a "joke."

Women's Bank of Prague

Prague Credit Bank (1929)

Women's Bank of Prague

Location: Prague, Czech Republic

Opened/Closed: 1933

The idea of a women's bank is not totally without precedent, especially in today's middle east. But the Women's Bank of Prague is certainly one of the earlier attempts at women-only banking--an attempt that probably did not advance too far, given the era in which it was proposed. Not surprisingly, I can find no information on this Bank beyond the announcement of its formation in March 1933. And, needless to say, the AP news article is very patronizing:

PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia, March 9--Several leaders of the women's clubs here-abouts announced today that they were sick and tired of the mess men bankers had made of the world's finances and that therefore they had organized the Women's Bank of Prague.

 It will be managed entirely by women and will extend credit to women only. The profits if any will be devoted to feminist propaganda.