Johannesburg – Absa Group Limited has stepped up efforts to combat a recent spike in illicit debit orders and will file criminal charges against those suspected of being responsible. This will be done in conjunction with the Payments Association of South Africa (Pasa) and the South African Banking Risk and Information Centre.

Ahead of the full implementation of DebiCheck, an industry-wide initiative driven by Pasa, fraudsters have increased their efforts to defraud as many banked customers as possible.

The modus operandi is to put through debit orders, for which they have no mandate, for amounts that will not trigger an SMS notification from banks.

Absa also stops working with those companies found to put through debit orders without mandates, and reports them to Pasa, so they can be black-listed among its members.  Where fraud is found, Absa will reverse transactions to refund defrauded consumers.

In addition, a new risk-based approach to processing debit orders is being implemented, whereby the bank will use its analytics to proactively identify fraudsters based on their behavior.

Absa Wealth Management has won several first places in the prestigious Euromoney Private Banking and Wealth Management Survey 2019, testimony to the bank’s excellent Wealth offering.

The survey covers 12 product and client categories on a global and regional basis, ranking results in 56 countries.

Absa Wealth Management ranked first in two categories in South Africa: Ultra High Net Worth Clients (greater than $30 million) and Super Affluent Clients (Between $1 million and $5 million). Across Sub-Saharan Africa, Absa Wealth was ranked first across four categories: Family Office Services (joint first with Stonehage); Ultra High Net Worth Clients, High Net Worth Clients and Super Affluent Clients.

Absa’s Family Office is a multi-family office service that provides high touch banking, leveraged solutions, legal advisory services, traditional and non-traditional investment management on a bespoke basis. It looks after the wealth of high net worth families with net investable assets of more than R100 million.

“Wealth Management today is a global business, with new professionalism to cater for specific client requirements and constantly increasing industry competition. Absa Wealth provides guidance and advice to clients through complex global trade economics and political environments and these awards are testimony of the value we add to our clients,” said Winston Monale, Managing Executive of Absa Wealth Management. “We are very proud to have improved on our achievements from the 2018 Survey in several categories.”

Absa has a presence in 12 countries across Africa as well as an offshore solution in Mauritius which offers banking and investment management.

“We provide a world-class offering and holistic service to our clients across banking, fiduciary and offshore wealth management, with the ability to create bespoke solutions to clients in partnership with broader bank services. Our wealth management business is expanding into the continent – we currently have offices in Kenya and Mauritius and are working hard on our broader African expansion plan, so these results bode well for the future,” Monale said.

More than 2 000 private bankers from 737 institutions took part in the 2019 Euromoney private banking survey, which ranks private banks and wealth management businesses across different categories. Now in its 16^th year, the survey is considered the industry’s leading barometer of the world’s best service and product providers to the world’s wealthy.

Absa and The Digital Academy hosted a technology showcase on 31 January 2019 to unveil solutions and applications built by The Digital Academy interns as part of a six-month programme aimed at helping to bridge a skills shortage in the technology and banking sectors

The Digital Academy has created a real-world and industry-leading platform which allows for young software developers to grow technically and to solve real problems with innovative solutions. The programme is designed to identify top talent and to fast-track opportunities and success for participants. Participants in the internship work in simulated software development environments, which encourage digital product innovation in Africa and allow skills to be aligned to industry demand.

In October 2018, Statistics South Africa revealed that about one in three young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 were not employed, enrolled in educational programmes or involved in training initiatives. One of the reasons for this, Stats SA said, is a lack of skills among the youth and, without any assistance or intervention, many of them face the likelihood of long-term unemployment.

It is for this reason that Absa has made a substantial investment in developing young talent in partnership with The Digital Academy. Both organisations contribute to improving the employability of South Africa’s out-of-work youth and promote economic inclusion, while passing on critical skills needed to succeed in the workplace of the future.

“Disruptive technologies and trends such as the Internet of Things, robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the way we live and work. We need to train and develop a skilled workforce that has the ability to take part in the digital revolution, which is one of the reasons that our partnership with The Digital Academy is so important. Furthermore, we believe that together we have the ability to bring possibilities to life and that hand-in-hand we can play a shaping role in society,” says Lee-Anne Wyman, Programme Manager for Young Talent and Citizenship in Absa’s technology division.

Each year, The Digital Academy hosts two intakes of 30 students that are trained for six months. The only prerequisite for joining the programme is for students to have completed Matric, to have a foundation in coding and a passion for technology.

The initiative supports these young interns in their development by building commercially focused prototypes that address local challenges for the local and African market. To date, 178 interns have been placed at Absa as part of the work-based experience component of the internship, of which 12 are current interns, 85 have been placed permanently and 41 have been placed on fixed-term contracts

“We are dedicated to equipping the youth with the tools, knowledge and skills that they need in order to have a voice in the development of products and services of the future. Digital skills are among the most in-demand from employers and programmes such as our rapid internship programme helps to alleviate the problem,” says Gary Bannatyne, Managing Director and co-founder of the Digital Academy.

“Our latest showcase will build on the success Absa and The Digital Academy have already enjoyed in ensuring that we continue to pass on the support and skills that South Africa’s youth need in order to become leaders of the workplaces of tomorrow, as well as to play an active role in their communities,” concludes Wyman.

 

The World Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative is partnering with WorkInProgress, an Absa Innovation Lab in Cape Town, to host a ‘solveathon’ workshop for the inaugural Mission Billion Challenge.

The Mission Billion Challenge is aimed at surfacing innovative solutions to tackle digital identity issues for the world’s ‘invisible’ one billion people – those who have no way of proving who they are and may therefore be excluded from essential public services and financial products. The challenge will explore how digital identification systems in developing countries can be better designed or adapted to protect people’s privacy and equip them with greater control over their personal data.

The World Bank Group, under its ID4D Initiative, is working to close this gap in order to promote inclusion, opportunities and dignity for the world’s poorest. The challenge seeks practical, cost effective and relevant ideas for developing countries, with total cash prizes of US$100 000, and US$50 000 as the top prize.

“Digital identification has transformational potential for development – making services and the digital economy inclusive, especially for the poor,” said Vyjayanti Desai, Program Manager for the ID4D Initiative. “But people need to trust digital ID systems, beginning with data protection, privacy, and providing people with ultimate control over their data. We launched Mission Billion to find practical ways to achieve this in developing countries.”

The ID4D initiative has partnered with MIT Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to run this challenge and the solveathon on 31 January in Cape Town. Solveathons are highly interactive design workshops aimed at developing and improving great solutions to global challenges.

“We are excited to work with the World Bank Group’s ID4D Initiative on this challenge and leverage MIT Solve’s platform to harness innovation and improve digital identification systems that will ultimately benefit the world’s poorest,” said Matthew Minor, Director of International Programs at MIT Solve. “Affordable identification solutions are basic tools for participation in modern society and exercising basic rights previously inaccessible for these billion ‘invisible’ people. We are incredibly honoured to be hosts to this ground-breaking initiative.”

WorkInProgress is working with the World Bank and MIT Solve to host the workshop on Cape Town.

“This is exactly why WorkInProgress exists – to facilitate and contribute to the broader effort to create tech-based solutions in the financial services sector and beyond,” said Charmaine Lambert, head of WorkInProgress.

The event is open to anyone who believes they have an idea or solution to solve the challenge.

“We urge South Africans who think they have an idea or solution to the Mission Billion Challenge to register to be part of this digital identity solveathon,” said Lambert.

Mission Billion Solveathon Event Details:

Register before the 31^st of January: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mission-billion-challenge-solveathon-cape-town-south-africa-tickets-53926953971

Date:                31^st January
Time:               09:00AM – 13:30PM SAST
Location:          WorkInProgress
Address:           5^th Floor, Block B, Woodstock Exchange Building, 66 Albert Road, Woodstock

Absa’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Maria Ramos will retire at the end of February 2019.  Maria has chosen to retire in February when she turns 60 and will become eligible to do so.

Maria has been Group Chief Executive since 2009. She has led the Group through significant milestones including: acquiring Barclays’s Africa subsidiary banks; the sell-down and the start of separation from Barclays, establishing a new strategy as a standalone financial institution as well as brand refresh in South Africa.

The Board has appointed Mr. René van Wyk as the Interim Chief Executive with effect from 1 March 2019.

René has been a non-executive director on the Boards since February 2017. He was previously the Registrar of Banks within the South African Reserve Bank and retired from that position in May 2016.  René had 19 years of experience with Nedbank, including as Executive Director of Risk for the then listed Nedcor Investment Bank. He was also Chief Executive Officer of Imperial Bank.

René will remain on the Boards and will be classified as an executive director with effect from 1 February 2019.

Absa will announce a permanent appointment to the position of Group Chief Executive in due course, following the finalization of the ongoing process of appointing a new CEO, and the requisite regulatory approvals.

“On behalf of the Boards, I wish to thank Maria for a decade of dedicated service to our Group and wish her all the best in her future endeavours. Absa is a different business to the one Maria joined in 2009. Instead of a South African bank it is now a pan-African financial services provider with a footprint in ten countries across Africa. She will leave the Group with our major priorities on track including the separation from Barclays and the implementation of our corporate strategy”, said Absa Group chairman, Wendy Lucas-Bull.

“It had never been my intention to stay this long, as I have always believed that a CEO’s tenure should allow for a regular refresh. My earlier intentions to step down were curtailed by Barclays PLC’s 2016 decision to sell down their controlling stake, a unique set of circumstances that required continuity. So with my coming 60th birthday I have made the decision to leave the position open for a new Chief Executive to lead the Group on the next leg of its exciting journey”, said Ms Ramos.

“I would like to thank members of the Board and Exco, past and present, for all the support they have provided over the years. I am also grateful for the opportunity to lead an organization with committed colleagues,” she said.

Absa Group is pleased to announce that Sandro Bucchianeri, Absa Acting Group Chief Security Officer, has been named a member of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council’s (PCI SSC’s) newly-elected Board of Advisors.

The PCI SSC leads a global, cross-industry effort to increase payment security by providing industry-driven, flexible and effective data security standards and programmes that help businesses detect, mitigate and prevent cyber-attacks and breaches. The latest Board of Advisors brings together some of the world’s leading companies from all sectors in the payments space, from vendors to merchants, processors to banks and other relevant associations and organisations. Other companies represented on the board include Amazon, PayPal, Microsoft and Wal-Mart, among others.

“The Board of Advisors provides industry expertise and perspectives that influence and shape the development of PCI Security Standards and programmes. We look forward to working with Absa in our efforts to help organisations secure payment data globally,” said PCI SSC Executive Director Lance J Johnson.

As strategic partners, board members bring industry, geographical and technical insight to PCI SSC plans and projects.

“I’m excited to participate in this global standards initiative,” Bucchianeri said. “Absa’s participation is testimony to the fact that we take security seriously and that we actively participate in the global effort to enhance security,”  Bucchianeri said.

Please see the PCI’s media release at this link

 

• Commercial agreement signed to launch a unique pan-African offering
• Separate agreement reached on the sale to Absa of the custody, trustee and derivatives clearing services operated by Societe Generale in South Africa

Societe Generale and Absa Group Limited, two leading banks on the African continent, announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to roll out a commercial agreement and expand their activities through the development of a pan-African wholesale banking offering. Separately, Absa agreed to acquire Societe Generale’s custody, trustee and clearing services operated in South Africa, enabling Absa to advance its growth strategy.

A unique financial services offering

With operations in 19 African countries, mainly in Western and Northern Africa*, Societe Generale has a strong position on the continent, enabling the Bank to offer its clients the expertise of an international bank combined with the proximity of its local banking networks.

Absa is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups. With a presence in 12 countries, primarily in Southern and Eastern Africa**, the bank has strong knowledge of local markets which allows Absa to meet client needs with a full range of local banking solutions.

This partnership will leverage on Societe Generale and Absa’s geographical complementarity and combined strengths to reinforce their expertise and offer a wider range of banking products and services to international and domestic corporate clients and financial institutions with operations in Africa. This will also enable them to boost client coverage beyond their own traditional markets through an extended offering across 27 countries in Africa.

While this is a non-exclusive agreement, the pan-African offering will be enriched over time with new complementary services and products.

Agreement to better serve clients

The agreement is in line with Societe Generale’s growth ambition in Africa. Being connected closely with a local banking partner allows the Bank to further strengthen its client coverage on the continent and foster its dynamic local growth strategy. It is also aligned with Absa’s growth strategy which aims to further develop its wholesale banking activities and extend its geographical reach into key African trading corridors.

The combined offering results from an innovative approach driven by Societe Generale and Absa’s shared ambition in Africa: to better serve clients, both local and international, in their banking needs across the continent.

The agreement includes a combined offering dedicated to Chinese companies operating in Africa. Societe Generale has established China business desks at 11 of its local subsidiaries to service Chinese clients in Africa.  As part of Absa’s international and China strategy, the Group will be rolling out China service desks in key African countries to complement its desk in South Africa. These desks will allow Absa to extend its strong local offering to Chinese multinational corporates. Through the new cooperation agreement, Absa will be able to leverage on Societe Generale’s strong presence in China.

“Large African companies and multinational groups present in Africa have increasingly sophisticated banking needs and require expertise that was mostly delivered in more mature economies. On the other hand, there are more and more regional champions on the continent for whom national markets have become too narrow. Joining our forces through this agreement makes perfect sense to accompany the economic development of the continent,” comments Frédéric Oudéa, Chief Executive Officer of Societe Generale.

“The agreement we have entered into should go a long way to enable our clients to do business in Africa regardless of where they want to do business. This is yet another example of how Absa is delivering against our growth strategy through both partnerships and acquisitions where relevant and appropriate,” says Maria Ramos, Absa Group Chief Executive Officer.

Absa to acquire Societe Generale’s custody, trustee and derivatives clearing services in South Africa

Societe Generale has reached a separate agreement to sell its custody, trustee and derivatives clearing services operated in Johannesburg to Absa Group Limited. Absa agreed to acquire the related activities conducted by Societe Generale in South Africa, notably its client portfolio, IT systems and all the employees dedicated to these activities.

The transaction is subject to the approvals of the relevant authorities, which are anticipated to be obtained by end of 2019. The securities lending and borrowing services are not part of the transaction and will be terminated by end of March 2019. Furthermore, Societe Generale and Absa intend to cooperate on the provision of securities services as part of the enrichment of the pan-African and global offering.

“For Absa, the acquisition supports our growth strategy in Africa,” said Maria Ramos. “The transaction allows Absa to re-establish a firm foothold in the custody and trustee services market and provides us with the opportunity to expand our offer to corporate clients in South Africa. Our strategic intent is, in time, to provide these services across markets where we have a presence.”

The sale is in line with Societe Generale’s strategic plan whose primary objectives are to focus on markets where it can generate potential synergies with other Group businesses. Societe Generale group remains engaged in South Africa with its activities in corporate and investment banking managed via its representative office in Johannesburg and through the combined pan-African offering launched in partnership with Absa.

* Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mauritania, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia

** Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, the Seychelles, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia

Move will open opportunities of growing African market to UK and European investors

Today, Absa, one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups, launches their UK office. Officially trading as Absa Securities UK, the move supports the group’s ambition to bring the world to Africa as the preferred corporate & investment banking partner between UK and European investors looking to do business in the continent’s growing economies.

The launch also represents a key milestone in Absa’s journey to becoming a true, standalone universal African bank following its official separation from Barclays on 30 June. Formerly Barclays Group Africa, the newly independent Absa draws on a 100-year heritage, with offices in 12 countries and has recently announced plans to expand their international presence throughout the major trading corridors into Africa which include North America and Asia.

Opening in the UK is a key pillar of that strategy, and comes at an opportune time as UK and European investors and businesses look to an increasingly stable and prosperous Africa for opportunity in a post-Brexit environment.

Absa’s goal is to help UK businesses expand into, and successfully do business in Africa. To confidently navigate relatively unfamiliar territory requires a partner with a long-history and established operations across the continent. That partner is Absa.

Absa brings a thorough understanding of investment flows, market participants, sector trends and regulations everywhere it operates. Headed by CJ Giddy, the UK office will give access to that expertise along with services including: liquidity management, cash management, trade & working capital, risk management, card issuing and acquiring and investment banking.

Absa Group CEO, Maria Ramos said: “We have an ambitious growth strategy at the centre of which is the growth of our clients. Having made the strategic commitment to grow in Africa we are also focused on investing in the infrastructure and capacity we need to help our global clients maximize their own growth potential in Africa. Our UK office is an important component of our growth intentions and we are delighted to introduce it to our clients at this time.”

In July, Barclays Africa Group Limited officially started trading under its new name, Absa Group Limited, on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Absa already has a number of key corporate and investment banking client relationships across Europe, North America, and Asia. In Africa Absa offers personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth management, investment management and insurance services.