James Formby is chief executive officer of RMB, a division of FirstRand Bank – a position he has held since 2015.<\/p>\n
Formby began his journey as an undergraduate at the University of Cape Town and finished his BCom (Hons) in 1991. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant (CA)(SA) a year later.<\/p>\n
He completed his accounting articles at Deloitte and Touche in Johannesburg and then completed an MPhil in Management Studies at Cambridge University.<\/p>\n
Formby joined RMB in 1997 as a corporate finance transactor and later became a team leader. His transactional skills and ability to structure large deals made him a core member in many key BEE transactions, IPOs, de-listings, Mergers & Acquisitions and disposals.<\/p>\n
In 2009 James was appointed deputy head of RMB\u2019s Investment Banking division, followed by a promotion in 2010 to head of coverage. He was also appointed to the RMB Management and Proprietary Boards at the time.<\/p>\n
In this episode of Business Talk with Michael Avery, Formby talks through the resilience of RMB in managing a pandemic like Covid-19, and the lessons that he has taken away from managing this crisis.<\/p>\n
The financial services expert also shares his thoughts on how banks will emerge from Covid-19, and what they might look like in the future.<\/p>\n
Formby shares his concerns about the macro economic outlook for South Africa, but also sheds some light on where he thinks the green shoots are, to drive the country forward.<\/p>\n
The full interview is embedded below. You can find all the Business Talk with Michael Avery interviews here<\/a>.<\/p>\n