https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / Audio / Audio Articles RSS ← Back
Financial|Services
Financial|Services
financial|services
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Article Enquiry

Absa chief executive Ramos to retire at end of February

Close

Embed Video

Absa chief executive Ramos to retire at end of February

Absa chief executive Ramos to retire at end of February
Photo by Bloomberg

29th January 2019

By: African News Agency

SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

Absa CEO Maria Ramos will retire at the end of February when she turns 60 and becomes eligible to do so, the banking group said on Tuesday.

Ramos has been group CEO since 2009 and has led Absa through significant milestones including acquiring Barclays’s Africa subsidiary banks; the sell-down and the start of separation from Barclays and establishing a new strategy as a standalone financial institution.

Advertisement

Absa said its board had appointed René van Wyk, a non-executive director since February 2017, as interim chief executive with effect from March 1.

Van Wyk was previously registrar of banks at the South African Reserve Bank until May 2016. He spent 19 years at Nedbank, including as executive director of risk for the then listed Nedcor Investment Bank, and was also CEO of Imperial Bank.

Advertisement

Absa said van Wyk would be classified as an executive director with effect from February 1.

"Absa will announce a permanent appointment to the position of group chief executive in due course, following the finalisation of the ongoing process of appointing a new CEO, and the requisite regulatory approvals," the bank said.

Absa Group chairperson Wendy Lucas-Bull said with Ramos at the helm, the company had changed from being a South African bank to a pan-African financial services provider with a footprint in ten countries across the continent.

Ramos said had her intention to step down earlier had been curtailed by Barclays Plc's 2016 decision to sell down its controlling stake in Absa, a unique set of circumstances that required continuity.

"So with my coming 60th birthday I have made the decision to leave the position open for a new chief executive to lead the group on the next leg of its exciting journey," she said.

Under her leadership, Absa acquired Barclays’s eight African subsidiaries for R18.3-billion in 2013, the largest African acquisition ever by a South African bank. 

She led the separation negotiations with Barclays which resulted in a R12.6-billion upfront contribution plus R2-billion earmarked for black economic empowerment.

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options
Free daily email newsletter Register Now