SARB tells African bank to appoint transaction advisor

African Bank says the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) tenure as one of its shareholders was always expected to be temporary.

The bank says the latest move by SARB to issue a request for proposals to appoint a transaction advisor to assist the central bank with the future sale of its shareholding should not come as a surprise.

The SARB acquired its 50% shareholding in African Bank in 2016 as part of restructuring after the bank was placed under curatorship in 2014.

African Bank’s other shareholders are FirstRand Bank, Standard Bank, ABSA, Nedbank, Capitec, Investec and the Government Employees Pension Fund.

African Bank says its customers will not be affected by these developments.

“At African Bank, we believe that this is an opportunity for African Bank to start looking at long-term shareholders who are better aligned to our strategy. Shareholders, you can contribute to a growth aspirations and a more natural shareholders for a bank. Our customers will not at all be affected by this process that the Reserve Bank has embarked upon,” says African Bank’s Louise Brugman.