{"id":854859,"date":"2026-03-25T10:30:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T08:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=854859"},"modified":"2026-03-25T10:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T08:40:08","slug":"end-of-an-era-for-historic-136-year-old-financial-giant-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/854859\/end-of-an-era-for-historic-136-year-old-financial-giant-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"End of an era for historic 136-year-old financial giant in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sasfin Wealth has rebranded to Otto1890, marking yet another shift for Sasfin after it quit its banking business and the JSE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new name of the business honours its founder, Otto Pollak, and the year he forged ties with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollak was a member of the JSE and later founded the business. Since its founding 136 years ago, the company has undergone several mergers and acquisitions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business was acquired by Sasfin in 1999 and integrated into the company’s banking divisions. The firm quickly transitioned from a brokerage to a diversified investment management company with over R100 billion in assets under management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the broader Sasfin Group has recently faced a series of challenges, including allegations of money laundering and illicit financial flows at its banking business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, the banking business was also hit with a R210 million fine from the Prudential Authority for historic non-compliance within Sasfin Bank\u2019s discontinued foreign exchange business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sasfin is also embroiled in a legal battle with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for around R5 billion<\/a>, with the taxman claiming that Sasfin owes money for Sasfin’s customers who evaded tax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid these issues, Sasfin has been undergoing a large strategic reset, which includes the rebranding of Sasfin Wealth to Otto1890. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an important moment for us as we set ourselves up for continued growth,” Sasfin Wealth CEO Erol Zeki previously said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Over a number of years, we have operated with a high degree of independence, with our own board, management team, and support services.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zeki added that wealth is no longer what defines the business; it is now a global investment specialist that helps clients achieve their goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sasfin said that Otto1890 has over R100 billion in assets, healthy income and earnings streams, strong growth prospects, and is poised to deliver sustainable value to clients and stakeholders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile our name is changing, our commitment to our stakeholders remains steadfast. Over 20% of our team have been with us for more than 15 years,” said Zeki. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They\u2019ve guided clients through every market cycle, challenge, and evolution, and have been integral in shaping what comes next. For all of us, investing is personal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bye Bye Banking <\/h2>\n\n\n
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The rebranding of Sasfin Wealth joins a host of other changes at the broader group, which is stepping away from its banking divisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, the group announced it would exit its banking business<\/a> and focus on its asset management and rental finance operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers had until 2 March 2026 to withdraw all funds from their accounts. If the funds were not moved, Sasfin nominated another bank to transfer them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group had already sold its Capital Equipment Finance and Commercial Property Finance loan books to African Bank in a deal worth over R3 billion a year prior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sasfin is now in the process of relinquishing its banking licence as it transitions into an investment-holding company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group said that this has empowered the Wealth business to “define its future with greater clarity and focus as a standalone investment specialist.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of its exit from banking, Sasfin<\/a> also delisted from the JSE at the end of 2024, aiming to reduce regulatory costs and focus on its core businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sasfin Wealth has officially rebranded to Otto1890, marking yet another massive change for the embattled group. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":796779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[4762,25074,3246,12334],"class_list":["post-854859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-african-bank","tag-otto1890","tag-sars","tag-sasfin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854859"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":854873,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854859\/revisions\/854873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}