African Bank has announced the immediate departure of its chief executive, Kennedy Bungane, marking a significant leadership change at the institution as it seeks to consolidate a major transformation strategy implemented over the past several years.
The development was disclosed through a regulatory announcement to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s news service on Friday, notifying investors holding the bank’s listed debt instruments of the leadership transition. The bank confirmed that Bungane had stepped down from both his role as group chief executive and as an executive director of African Bank and African Bank Holdings with immediate effect.
The bank’s board indicated that Bungane had played a central role in shaping and implementing the lender’s strategic repositioning programme known as the Excelerate Strategy. The initiative was designed to shift African Bank from its historic position as a specialist unsecured lender toward a broader financial services institution offering a wider range of retail and business banking services.
African Bank emerged from its well-documented financial collapse in 2014 under a restructuring process led by regulators and domestic banks, and the institution has since pursued a strategy focused on rebuilding its brand and diversifying its product offering. Bungane oversaw a period of expansion that included the acquisition of UBank, the purchase of Grindrod Bank, and the integration of selected business banking operations previously owned by Sasfin Bank.
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These acquisitions were aimed at strengthening African Bank’s capabilities beyond unsecured consumer credit, enabling the institution to expand into areas such as personal banking, transactional services and lending to small and medium-sized enterprises. The strategy also sought to broaden the bank’s customer base and reduce its reliance on a single lending model, which had previously exposed it to high credit risk.
The bank’s board said the next phase of its strategy would focus on consolidating the gains from both organic growth and acquisitions over the past five years. This phase is expected to prioritise operational efficiency, improved customer offerings and further integration of the newly acquired banking units into a single operating model.
Zwelibanzi Nelson Manyathi has been appointed interim chief executive to guide the institution through this consolidation period while a permanent successor is considered. Manyathi joined the boards of African Bank and African Bank Holdings in September 2022 and has served as chief executive of the bank’s business and commercial banking division for the past four years.
In that role, he led the integration of Grindrod Bank and the acquired Sasfin business banking operations into African Bank’s structure. He also oversaw the launch of digital lending platforms designed to expand the bank’s reach within the small business segment and strengthen its presence in the SMME market.
Manyathi brings extensive experience from the South African banking sector. Earlier in his career he held senior leadership roles at several major financial institutions, including Standard Bank, where he served as chief executive of business and commercial banking. He also previously led branch banking and corporate banking divisions at First National Bank, where his responsibilities included expanding service networks and improving operational performance.
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According to African Bank SENS announcement, the board expressed confidence that Manyathi’s industry experience and familiarity with the bank’s ongoing transformation strategy would provide continuity during the leadership transition. The board also indicated that the executive team would continue driving the institution’s goal of evolving into a diversified financial services provider capable of serving both personal and business banking customers.
The leadership transition comes at a time when South Africa’s banking sector is facing growing competition from digital lenders, fintech companies and established commercial banks expanding into new segments. African Bank’s shift into transactional banking and business lending is widely viewed as an attempt to compete more directly with traditional retail banks while maintaining its established presence in consumer credit.
The appointment of the interim chief executive remains subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, a standard requirement for leadership changes within South Africa’s banking sector. The board has indicated that it intends to ensure a smooth transition as the institution continues its effort to reshape itself into a fully diversified financial services group.