The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) has approved the SA Post Office\u2019s first level application for a banking licence for Postbank.<\/p>\n
The awarding of the licence means that the Postbank is closer to offering more than just savings accounts as it will be able to offer banking cards and other services.<\/p>\n
Officials expect the next and final level for the licence to be completed within 12 months.<\/p>\n
Subsequent steps in the process will include the approval of the Postbank board nominees, the registration of it as a company and the transfer of business from Sapo to the new company.<\/p>\n
Minister of Telecommunications and Postal services, Siyabonga Cwele, said the awarding of the first level application brings government closer to its realisation of a state bank.<\/p>\n
“I think we are coming closer to that realisation,\u201d said Cwele at a media briefing in Houghton, Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
“It should be clear that this bank is not in competition with commercial banks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Postbank is set to serve government\u2019s development agenda, explained Cwele.<\/p>\n
The bank is further expected to tap post office retail outlets across the country, turning them into branches.<\/p>\n
The Postbank is also set to become a subsidiary of Sapo but with its own governing structure, said Cwele.<\/p>\n
Capital raising<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Sapo\u2019s chief executive officer Mark Barnes also said that Sapo has secured a three-year loan facility of R3.7bn from major financial institutions such as Standard Bank.<\/p>\n The facility comprises a floating interest rate of 2.5%.<\/p>\n The funding was also secured via guarantees made available to Sapo by National Treasury as the state-owned company seeks to return to financial sustainability, after it recorded a R1.5bn loss earlier this year.<\/p>\n Sapo has also struck a deal with unions to ensure that \u201cqualifying bargaining unit employees will be paid a once off, taxable and non-pensionable back pay in full for eight months\u201d for the period of April-November 2014.<\/p>\n While there will be no salary increases for Sapo\u2019s approximately 22 000 staff for the 2015\/2016 financial year, the company has committed to an overall increase of 6.5% on actual basic salary or total cost to company effective from April 1 2016.<\/p>\n These payments will be effected on August 25 2016, said Sapo.<\/p>\n Finally, Sapo said it has moved to convert \u2018Permanent Part-Time Employees\u2019 (PPTEs) to permanent full time effective from August 1 2016.<\/p>\n Casual employees are planned to be converted to PPTEs effective from August 1 2016.<\/p>\n Fin24<\/a><\/p>\n How much money SA Post Office is losing each month<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on SAPO<\/h3>\n