New bank in South Africa ready to launch

Old Mutual Bank (OM Bank) has receieved final approval from the South African Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority to appoint Clarence Nethengwe as Chief Executive Officer the bank, effective immediately.

This opens the way for the digital-first bank to officially start taking on clients, with the bank onboarding a select group of clients in early 2025 and then staging a broader public rollout later in the year.

The bank will offer a comprehensive range of personal banking solutions, including transactional accounts, savings, and credit products.

It is set to target the mass market, where Capitec is South Africa’s most significant player. It will focus on South Africans earning between R1,000 and R30,000 monthly.

Old Mutual Group CEO, Iain Williamson said that Nethengwe’s role as CEO the bank is vital for the group’s broader vision.

Nethengwe has been with Old Mutual for 15 years, and the group credits him with building one of Old Mutual’s largest and most successful businesses, the Mass and Foundation Cluster (MFC).

“Our vision for OM Bank is to ensure that customers are not only able to access transparent and personalised financial services and tools but, more importantly, to partner with them so that these tools improve access to banking and credit for the betterment of all South Africans.

“At OM Bank, everyone will be treated equally because what distinguishes customers is what they want from their bank, not their status or financial muscle,” Nethengwe said.

More banks on the way

OM Bank is one of four new banks that are set to launch in South Africa in 2025 and beyond.

The Young Women in Business Network (YWBN) received its mutual banking licence at the beginning of 2024, with the Prudential Authority gazetting its registration in January last year. 

It said at the time that it would spend 2024 using this licence to complete its bank build and launch sometime in 2025 or later. 

The Postbank has been operational in South Africa for several years under the South African Post Office, but is moving towards becoming its own fully-fledged bank.

President Ramaphosa signed the Postbank Amendment Bill into law in September last year, formally transferring the Postbank’s shareholding from the embattled South African Post Office to the government. 

Postbank has previously said it will resubmit its Section 16 application for the current financial year, but no set date has been given for its launch.

Finally, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities announced earlier in 2024 that it plans to launch a new cooperative bank in South Africa. 

This bank, under the proposed name of South Africa Innovative Financial Services Cooperative (SAIFSC), has not received any banking licence as yet and will be more akin to a formalised stokvel until it does.