espanolFundada durante la Gran Depresion, la Caja de Credito Agrario se convirtio en el banco mas importante de Colombia del siglo xx. Conservando siempre su caracter estatal, el articulo aborda, desde un enfoque de economia politica, el surgimiento y el rapido crecimiento del banco durante sus primeros anos. El texto analiza los intereses privados involucrados en su creacion, asi como el papel desempenado por el Estado y los actores politicos mas relevantes en dicho proceso. EnglishFounded during the Great Depression, the Agrarian Credit Bank became Colombia´s most important bank in the twentieth century. Maintaining its state bank status throughout, this article approaches the bank emergence and rapid growth in its early years from a political-economy perspective. The text analyses the private interests involved in its creation, as well as the role played by both the State and the most relevant political actors in that process.