Outgoing Nedbank Group chief operating officer Mfundo Nkuhlu says an investment in West Africa’s Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), which was eventually sold at a significant loss, remains one of the few disappointments in an otherwise successful 22-year career at the lender.
Nkuhlu, who has held several leadership positions at Nedbank over more than two decades, said the ETI investment failed to deliver on its original objectives, prompting the bank to exit the pan-African lender and redirect capital into faster-growing East African markets.
In December 2025, Nedbank ended its 17-year association with ETI by selling its 21.2% stake to Bosquet Investments for R1.8-billion. The bank had acquired the stake for about R6.3-billion.
Reflecting on his time at Nedbank, Nkuhlu said his careerwas defined by several leadership positions rather than a single role.
“Icame in as managing executive for Nedbank Africa, became managing executive for corporate banking, grew more than double the size of that business at the time, generating strong returns in excess of 20%. Then I ran the Nedbank corporate cluster, combining corporate banking, commercial property finance and our Africa business.
“After that stint, I became the COO of the group, a role I held for the last 11 years. It allowed me to build relationships with our clients in the front end of the business and fantastic relationships within the bank, across the frontline businesses as well as our shared services environment that I was responsible for.”
While highlighting the successes achieved during his tenure, Nkuhlu acknowledged that not every strategic decision delivered the intended outcome.
“On the downside, I will probably highlight the ETI investment. Then we exited and used some of that capital to make entry into East Africa, which is a vibrant market and we are growing strongly, and we have acquired a decent bank in NBCA.
“That will help us to diversify our source of earnings and not just rely on a low-growth South African economy but also tap into higher numbers of growth in East Africa.”
Nkuhlu said the bank’s recent performance reinforced confidence in its long-term strategy, particularly its efforts to diversify earnings beyond South Africa.
On his retirement plans, Nkuhlu said he would like to take some time off before exercising his options. “I think it is important that after a long corporate career that one finds a rebalance in one’s life … and looking after my health, ensuring that I’m still energetic, I would want to do meaningful things in the period ahead.
“Retirement does not mean the end of life. And so, I’ll come back into activity. But I’m allowing myself time and space to think that through.”
Nedbank has shown strong growth since Nkuhlu became an employee. The group’s market cap in June 30 had risen to R129-billion from R24.24-billion when he joined 2004.
- Outgoing Nedbank Group chief operating officer Mfundo Nkuhlu says an investment in West Africa’s Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), which was eventually sold at a significant loss, remains one of the few disappointments in an otherwise successful 22-year career at the lender.
- Nkuhlu, who has held several leadership positions at Nedbank over more than two decades, said the ETI investment failed to deliver on its original objectives, prompting the bank to exit the pan-African lender and redirect capital into faster-growing East African markets.
- In December 2025, Nedbank ended its 17-year association with ETI by selling its 21.2% stake to Bosquet Investments for R1.8-billion.
- The bank had acquired the stake for about R6.3-billion.
- Reflecting on his time at Nedbank, Nkuhlu said his careerwas defined by several leadership positions rather than a single role.
