Listed financial services group Discovery says it has hired a team of bankers as it closes in on a move into retail banking, according to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
The company announced in September last year that it planned to establish an’ innovative full-service retail bank’, after acquiring control of its credit-card unit from FirstRand, with CEO and co-founder Adrian Gore noting that the project may take a few years.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019re flat out with the infrastructure and the regulatory process for banking,\u201d Gore said in an interview with Bloomberg<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ve got the capital, we\u2019ve hired bankers, we\u2019re building substantial systems. We want to make an offering that\u2019s relevant and can win market share.\u201d<\/p>\n Discovery launched as a private health insurer in 1992 and has since expanded into investments, credit cards, life insurance and property and casualty cover.<\/p>\n The insurer has already appointed former bank executive Barry Hore to head up the new division and has applied to the central bank for a licence.<\/p>\n According to Bloomberg, South Africa has five lenders controlling more than 89% of South African banking assets and at least 16 other companies and 15 local branches of international banks offering lending services.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s Discovery Card unit has more than 250,000 customers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re looking at the modern and traditional structures that people need,\u201d Gore told Bloomberg. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a good embedded base with Discovery Card. We\u2019re comfortable that we\u2019re heading in the right direction. It will take a year or two to get it into the market.\u201d<\/p>\nMoe on Discovery<\/h3>\n
More details emerge on Discovery bank launch<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n