Banking

Ubank, which had a significant presence in the North West, has been sold to African Bank.

Having started its life as a savings fund for mineworkers, Ubank was converted to a commercial bank in the early 1990s but mineworkers continued to have a say in how it was run. The relationship of Ubank with the North West was close, an example being the branches located at the Dishaba and Thumela hostels of the Amandebult Mine.

Ubank was placed under administration in May, with the banking authorities citing concerns over insufficient capital, corporate governance and weak internal control.

African Bank’s acquisition of Ubank was completed in November 2022 and adds 4.7-million customers to its operation. Coming within months of African Bank’s purchase of Grindrod Bank for R1.5-billion, the R80-million transaction indicates the scale of Africans Bank’s ambitions – an indication of how far the bank has come since it was put into administration itself in 2014. The Reserve Bank still has a 50% shareholding in the bank, which it intends to sell.

TymeBank, one of the newer entrants onto the South African banking scene, is taking the concept of “retail banking” to another level. Having run banking kiosks within retailers such as Pick n Pay and Boxer for several years, TymeBank has signed a deal with TFG, a group that has a big presence in the North West.

What used to be known as the Foschini Group has 34 brands, including Markhams, Totalsports, Jet and Dial a Bed, and 30-million customers. In the short term, TymeBank will have access to 600 TFG kiosks, taking the bank’s total in South Africa to 1 450. There are Exact stores in Rustenburg, Mahikeng and Zeerust.

Another relatively new bank is Capitec. Investment holding company PSG has reduced its holding in Capitec Bank from 32% to 4%, earning about R4-billion by selling those shares.

Discovery Bank officially launched in March 2019 and is experiencing rapid growth with deposits of R3.7-billion. Discovery Bank is applying the behavioural model it uses in its health business to reward good financial behaviour.

In 2022, financial services group Old Mutual received permission from the prudential authority of the South African Reserve Bank to apply for a banking licence. The bank will spend R1.75-billion on setting up the bank and intends to launch in 2024.

All of the big banks have agricultural desks where experts can offer relevant advice. Nedbank is making a point of making funding available for climate-change mitigation such as more efficient irrigation and water-use technologies. All of the large agricultural companies have finance divisions.

Association for Savings and Investment South Africa: www.asisa.org.za

Auditor-General of South Africa: www.agsa.co.za

Chartered Institute for Government Finance, Audit and Risk Officers: www.cigfaro.co

Partners in the programme include the National Union of Mineworkers, Sanlam and Coronation. ■