African Bank has completed the acquisition of embattled lender Ubank.
Under the leadership of experienced bankers Thabo Dloti and Kennedy Bungane, who serve as chairman and CEO respectively, African Bank met the last condition of the deal on Monday, and the transaction became effective on Tuesday.
In August, the banking group succeeded in its bid to acquire the majority of Ubank’s disclosed assets and liabilities and take on its employees on a going concern basis.
This after a decision by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in May to place Ubank under curatorship. KPMG Services, represented by Zola Beseti, was then appointed as the curator of Ubank to manage the affairs of the bank, which included recovering and taking possession of all the assets of the bank.
Dloti said the Ubank transaction is an essential element of African Bank’s Excelerate25 strategy, with the joining of the two businesses to build a scalable, diversified and sustainable banking business with a compelling listable proposition.
“This Ubank transaction is important as it enables us to achieve our growth aspirations. I am delighted that this milestone enables us to commence the critical work of ensuring that we continue to secure the deposits and enhance the core offering of the Ubank customers, and deliver on the mandate to provide relevant solutions to our target customers,” said Dloti.
“We will now commence the critical work of integrating these operations and providing growth opportunities for staff across the unified business.
“We welcome our colleagues from Ubank, acknowledge the critical role of all our stakeholders, and thank our new Ubank customers for the confidence they have demonstrated throughout the Ubank curatorship process.”
Previously known as Teba Bank, Ubank has its roots in servicing customers in the mining towns. Under the leadership of Dloti and Bungane, it has been on an acquisitive spree in recent months, as they look to scale the business and compete in a tough industry.
In May, the banking group entered the business banking sector with the acquisition of Grindrod Bank, saying at the time that Grindrod Bank will provide an entry into the business banking market, which will be grown off African Bank’s strong capital levels.
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