On Sunday 10 August 2014 the Governor of the SA Reserve Bank (SARB), Gill Marcus, announced that a decision had been taken, in conjunction with the Minister of Finance, to place African Bank Limited under curatorship and to appoint Tom Winterboer as the Curator. It is important to note that the curatorship applies to African Bank Limited and not the parent company, African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL).
The curatorship is a protection procedure. It gives the Curator, who acts under the supervision of the Registrar, the power to develop and implement a plan to ensure that the business of African Bank has a secure future as a lending institution with a transformed business model.
The Governor announced a number of measures, which have been in planning over several weeks, to rehabilitate and reconfigure the business model of African Bank. These include recapitalising the bank by raising R10billion, underwritten by a consortium made up of the country’s leading banks and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).
“Our role is to best promote the interest of the creditors and banking sector as a whole and to maintain investor confidence in South Africa,” says Tom Winterboer, PWC Financial Services Leader Africa and Curator, African Bank.
Winterboer continues “We confirm that African Bank is open for business and that our retail customers’ money is safe. Employees have already been informed that the new measures will in no immediate way negatively impact on their jobs, their salaries will be paid and their contracts will be honoured in accordance with South Africa’s labour laws.”
“Furthermore, all 511 branches nationwide are open, as is the bank’s 1000-seater call-centre. A recovery process is under way to turn the bank into a high quality and profitable institution once more. This can be achieved through, amongst other things, our loyal customers and employees.”
“Our task at hand is to ensure the smooth and efficient running of African Bank and to ensure that the regular operations and collections continue effectively, while implementing the plan in a respectful and dignified manner.”
“There is much work to be done and it is understandable that our customers and employees have many questions as to the operational status of African Bank. To this end we would like to confirm that the bank is open for business.”, concludes Winterboer.