Ex-Absa heavyweight to take independent investment banking firm to new heights Johannesburg – 18 June 2013 – Meet Bravura’s new CEO Bravura is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Andries du Plessis who joins the firm today as Chief Executive Officer. Known to everyone as Adie, his deep financial services expertise and experience with financial governance, coupled with his finely honed entrepreneurial skills, make him the ideal person to strengthen the management of Bravura and lead it into the next stage of its growth. Looking back, shortly after Bravura was founded in Johannesburg in 1999, the South African banking industry faced a crisis that saw several large established financial services companies fail. Through this crisis Bravura focused on its core business and the delivery of extraordinary client service, steadily growing the firm from one office in Johannesburg to a group that now employs 148 people (including its investment companies) in South Africa, Namibia, Mauritius and Australia. In 14 years Bravura has stayed the course through several more global financial crises, achieving a remarkable 42% compounded annual growth since 2003. Looking forward, it is time for Bravura to move on to the next level in its development. Adie du Plessis’s remit is to lead the exponential growth of the group, imparting new impetus and implementing corporate-scale processes whilst developing the skills of the existing management team. Adie has spent the past nine years in various leadership positions within the Absa Group, heading up divisions such as Specialised Finance and Specialised Funding Solutions, the latter a division he was asked to build during the takeover by Barclays Bank. As an EXCO member he was a key part of the team that saw Absa Corporate & Business Bank reach growth rates of 36% per annum over a four-year period before 2011. Prior to Absa he was with the Nedcor Group for fifteen years, in a wide range of positions with responsibility …
FirstRand introduces new investment management franchise Ashburton Investments
News release from Ashburton Investments 11 June 2013 FirstRand introduces new investment management franchise Ashburton Investments Differentiated offering in investment management landscape FirstRand Limited (FirstRand) today introduced to investors its new generation investment management franchise Ashburton Investments, which will now be the Group’s fourth financial services franchise alongside FNB, RMB and WesBank. Since Momentum was unbundled from the Group in 2009 asset management has been an identified gap in the Group’s portfolio. “FirstRand’s stated strategy is to participate in all the profit pools in financial services” said FirstRand CEO Sizwe Nxasana. “We believe have the appropriate platforms and skills to now enter the investment management space with innovative investment products. “The Group has a track record in creating new businesses that challenge conventional thinking and bring new propositions to customers. To this end we use the track records, skills and operational platforms of our existing businesses as the building blocks for new and disruptive franchises such as Discovery and OUTsurance and now Ashburton Investments. “By accessing the origination capabilities of our existing franchises – particularly RMB - we can bring new investment and asset classes to retail and institutional investors. This will be in the form of both alternative and traditional products, which will provide investors with a far wider investment choice than currently exists, offering more sources of return and making it easier for South Africans to save.” The new business takes its name from Ashburton, FirstRand’s existing offshore asset management business, with a long established track record of providing traditional products in developed and emerging markets, and which will now form part of Ashburton Investments. Boshoff Grobler, head of Ashburton Investments said that the objective was to become the leading new generation investment …
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Visa launches first African Integration Index in South Africa
NEWS RELEASE Visa launches first African Integration Index in South Africa • South Africa’s integration improving • Low levels of regional integration amongst African countries • Africa still offers major growth potential SOUTH AFRICA, 5 June 2013 – Visa in South Africa today launched the first Visa Africa Integration Index that measures the degree of economic integration within key trade corridors of sub-Saharan Africa, namely West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. Together with its partners, global payments company Visa touches 500 million people in these key African markets. Rationale Mandy Lamb, Acting General Manager for Visa sub-Saharan Africa, said: “There is growing evidence that supports the argument that cross-border interactions, or openness, drives economic growth and socio-economic advancement. “Our objective was to construct an index for a number of selected sub-Saharan African countries to measure their global and regional integration based on recent data. We want to better understand Africa to help unleash the enormous growth potential in electronic payments on the continent, now the heart of the developing world.” She added that the Visa Africa Integration Index is particularly timely given the release of the Africa Competitiveness Report 2013 last month. The report, jointly produced by the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum, said closer regional integration would be crucial in addressing underlying weaknesses in Africa's long-term competitiveness and ensuring that the continent delivers on its massive growth promise. Study Methodology The study offers a detailed analysis of key country clusters in sub-Saharan Africa, revealing strengths and areas of growth potential. The clusters are: • West Africa: Ghana and Nigeria • East Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania • Southern Africa: South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The 11 constituent …
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All New & Improved Banking Channel Management
The 2nd Banking Channel Management Conference is once again set to be held in Johannesburg on the 14 & 15 August 2013. The first Banking Channel Management Conference 2012 that was held last year attracted nearly 80 delegates and was well received. Post event feedback included comments such as: ‘It was a very informative conference’, ‘the speakers were great’, ‘interesting perspective on how the market thinks about channel innovation’, ‘it was a very good agenda with speakers’ and ‘very informative content.’ The new and improved 2013 conference features 8 categories including the overview, different banking channels, channel innovation, technology developments, planning and organising, implementation, marketing and customer relationship management and retail banking channels. This two-day event will focus on the latest issues affecting banking channel management and boasts a top-notch speaker panel of 20 Channel Management experts. Following in the footsteps of our recent majorly successful financial conferences such as: Mobile Banking Conference, Debt Collection Conference and Core Banking Conference, the Banking Channel Management Conference is once again anticipated to attract professionals from a vast spectrum in the industry. Join industry leaders and delegates as they grasp the opportunity to understand how banks can best adapt to constant changes in channel management as well as strategise in order to maintain and increase their market share within the industry. To register contact Project Manager, Michandre Malan on (011) 803 1553 or email michandre@tci-sa.co.za URL: https://www.tci-sa.co.za/brochures/channel_management.pdf Twitter: www.twitter.co/tcisa Facebook: YouTube: Author: Sian Wirth from Trade Conferences International. Originally distributed by MyPR.co.za. No of Images Uploaded: None To gain access to None image/s please Like, Tweet or +1 this …
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Johannesburg to host the 3rd Annual Payments Conference on 18 and 19 September 2013
The 3rd Annual Southern Africa Payments Conference and Exhibition 2013 is set to be even more informative and thought-provoking than ever before. One of Trade Conferences Internationals most anticipated conferences will once again take place in Johannesburg on 18 and 19 September 2013 at Emperors Palace, Kempton Park and will boast a speaker panel of highly regarded payment industry experts. With a multi-faceted revamped programme, speaker presentations will explore the change in many local and international payment trends as well as predict how these trends will impact the future of the payment industry. Trends such as; mobile payments, mobile wallets, payments security, Omni-commerce, consumer behaviour changes, relationship management, micropayments, prepaid cards and EMV Cards will be analysed. Sharlee Vickery, project manager at TCI, said, “With last year’s Payments Conference having set a high standard, this year’s event promises to not only meet but surpass the set standard. This is my second year working on this event and I have no doubt in my mind that I will once again bring payment professionals the great event that they are used to.” “I invite all professionals who deal with payments, cards & ATM's, mobile banking, on-line/ electronic banking, digital channels, credit, channel management, innovation, technology, transactional banking, retail banking, compliance and regulation, risk and fraud, product development and inclusive banking to join me at this event.” Apart from the obvious benefits, attending this event will also give you an excellent opportunity to network with other personnel from banks, financial institutions, telecommunication companies, and the IT, payment and mobile industries respectively. For more information on this conference and exhibition contact Sharlee, the project manager at TCI on + 27 11 803-1553 or email info@tci-sa.co.za By Sian Wirth, 27 May 2013 URL: https://www.tci-sa.co.za Twitter: …
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KENAKO MALL OPENS ITS DOORS
KENAKO MALL OPENS ITS DOORS And the consumers “like” it. [Cape Town] Judging by the success Kenako Mall enjoyed during the official opening towards the end of April, Pointbreak Investment Management and Kenako’s investors, Shoprite Group and Prima Retail Properties, are confident that this ground breaking development of R195 million will set the tone for future township mall development. The 19 000 m² mall is ideally placed in one of Port Elizabeth’s biggest townships, with a catchment area of more than 340 000 shoppers and an estimated retail potential of R1,2 billion. Besides the 4 000 m² Shoprite, other top brands as tenants include Truworths, Ackermans, Pep, Clicks, Mr Price, Tekkie Town, Capitec, Standard Bank, Hungry Lion, McDonalds, Jet, Edgars Active, Identity, Legit, Fashion IQ, etc. At the opening, Kenako Mall had 88% tenants, with 76% being Nationals and a keen interest in the remaining 12% of the Mall. The opening of Kenako Mall was met with much excitement. The parking lot, with just under a thousand bays available, was fully packed. Following the traditional ribbon cutting, hundreds of trolley-pushing, cheering people streamed into Kenako Mall, most notably into Shoprite. The positive comments and posts on the Kenako Mall Facebook Page, with nearly 7 500 “likes” already, is indicative that the timing and location for Kenako Mall was spot on, filling a need in the community. “The increase in expendable income in townships and rural areas has opened up a new market for national retailers,” says Pointbreak’s Pieter Laubscher. “Kenako Mall gives its target market access to South Africa’s leading retail and fashion brands. In terms of creating a pleasant shopping experience, we invested in a beautiful centre layout and quality finishes.” From an investment perspective, Kenako Mall is setting new standards and creating a good example when it comes to township and rural retail developments. Pointbreak’s John Hamman adds: “This is a long-term …
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Improving GRC Strategy with Gijima
This year, TCI’s GRC conference will feature one of the key players in the South African Risk and Advisory sector. Jayesh Mowjee, Business Manager; Security Solutions at Gijima will be addressing issues surrounding cybercrime and its impact on GRC processes. Cybercrime has been under serious spotlight lately for its target on companies whose core function is information management. As the leading Security Solutions Manager, Mowjee has been part of the development of innovative cutting edge solutions at Gijima; they have sought to address burning issues that government faces across its various tiers such as the security based division. The conference will be held on 5th-6th of June 2013 at the Fabz Hotel, Lonehill, Johannesburg. Some of the companies that will share the platform at the conference with Gijima include Standard Bank, Stanlib, Eskom Holdings, Microsoft SA, Airports Company South Africa, Intercept Risk, Deloitte and Touche, Ace Group, National Credit Regulator, Mazars and many more. For GRC to work effectively, a holistic and overarching approach has to be taken which has clear communication channels reaching to all relevant structures of the organisation. This 2 day conference will lay bare the hot issues most people in GRC are grappling with such as risk, security, cloud implementations and more. To find out more regarding registration contact Sian Wirth on 011 803 0009/1553 or email sian@tci-sa.co.za or visit TCI website www.tci-sa.co.za to download the brochure. URL: https://www.tci-sa.co.za Twitter: www.twitter.co/tcisa Facebook: YouTube: Author: Sian Wirth from Trade Conferences International. Originally distributed by MyPR.co.za. …
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Governance Risk & Compliance Conference
The 2nd Annual Governance, Risk and Compliance Conference will introduce attending delegates to insightful and informative ideas that most companies must apply in areas such as such governance, enterprise risk, compliance, information security and GRC frameworks. The conference will give delegates the opportunity to explore new models and innovative GRC strategies which they can use to improve and enhance overall companies’ performance levels. The conference will be held on the 5 & 6 June at Fabz Hotel in Lonehill, Johannesburg Some of the topics to be addressed include: • GRC strategy & implementation, • POPI and global security, • Companies Act requirements, • GRC strategies and their impact on cloud implementations, • evolving world of e-commerce fraud, • improving your workplace ethics as a prerequisite for good governance, • IT governance, • fraud awareness. Companies who have already registered to attend include, Standard Bank, Momentum Group, Bankserv Africa, First National Bank, National Bargaining Council for Road Freight and Logistics Industry and Bank of Taiwan SA Attending this conference will put you in contact with your fellow colleagues who are working in the following areas: • GRC compliance monitoring, • enterprise risk management, • auditing, • risk control, • corporate governance, • risk advisory, • information security • risk operations. To register, complete the registration form on the brochure and fax it to us on 086 582 2981, or email it to info@tci-sa.co.za. URL: https://www.tci-sa.co.za Twitter: www.twitter.com/tcisa Facebook: YouTube: Author: Sian Wirth from Trade Conferences International. Originally distributed by MyPR.co.za. No of Images Uploaded: One To gain access to One image/s please Like, Tweet or +1 this article: [l2g] Images: [/l2g] …
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South Africa’s mobile money industry remains innovative and diverse
Mobile Money Africa returns to Johannesburg in May South Africa remains one of the most diverse regions in Africa for its proliferation of successful mobile money business models being championed by banks, MNOs (mobile network operators), third party providers and retailers. This is according to Emma Pearce, director of the upcoming, annual Mobile Money Africa conference and exhibition, which will again gather the continent’s leading industry experts in Johannesburg from 28-29 May. Says Emma: “We have seen some of the most compelling mobile payments case studies come from South Africa and the market continues to reinvent itself and innovate its offerings. Johannesburg is the perfect backdrop for Mobile Money Africa, as it is one of the foremost economic hubs of Southern Africa: a melting pot of business models and market leaders. The event will challenge preconceptions regarding mobile money in Africa and introduce innovators driving the marketplace forward.” South Africa is a tough market Brian Richardson, WIZZIT CEO, and a mobile money industry pioneer from South Africa tells us that a recent development which has been “incredibly exciting” is the level of interest from banks in emerging markets. He explains: “up until now, the stance of many banks has been to wait and see and as we are all aware, they have had many other pressing priorities to address. There is an enormous amount of ‘noise’ in the mobile banking space and a lot of unsubstantiated hype which causes confusion for everyone.” He continues: “South Africa is a tough market – dominated by four very large and very powerful entities. It is also an interesting market in that not only has the market grown up with a card paradigm, but South Africa has a very well developed card acquiring infrastructure. This is not typically the case in other emerging markets where the opportunity of leap frogging the card paradigm is very much more real. A mobile acquiring infrastructure for a start can be …
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African Retail Banking sector to reach the next level of customer expectation
Africa is determined as a destination with opportunities due to the large scale potential the region has particularly in providing financial services to the mass population. Mobile financial services and other means of electronic money have always submerged in this market where banks and external agencies are tapping in the region to invest more into providing financial services to the mass population including the unbanked, under-banked and the poorest of the poor. Africa’s main challenges in retail banking lie within delivering secured banking services, loyalty programs, embedding a customer focused banking to serve clients better across all segments including micro, mass, affluent, SMEs and being more socially responsible and ethical to the region. 5th Annual Retail Banking Africa 2013, will stage a platform for Africa retail bankers to come one step closer into redoing their retail banking strategy to serve customers better and make profitable business. With the advancement of technology, retail banking globally demands out of the box futuristic and innovative solutions to make consumer banking more effective. To keep up with the needs of the customers, retail banks need to continually develop and implement strategies that are updated with the latest banking trends. One of the highlight of this forum is the GURU Panel, which will focus on the need to change the region's banking practices and strategies according to the current banking structure. New opportunities will be explored, untapped avenues for revenue generation will be exploited, by delivering more effective service and quality across retail branches and positioning your brand across a wide customer base through an effective market and customer insights strategy. This dedicated session is entitled as "Growth Proposition – Developing Cutting Edge Retail Banking Services" and will be joined by six panellists such as Zahid Mustafa, Regional Consumer Banking Director of East and West Africa …