Investec shareholders angle for more change from new CEOs
Fani Titi and Hendrik du Toit have their work cut out for them as the bank has struggled to improve its return on equity since the global financial crisis
Investors want Investec’s new CEOs to ring in changes to re-ignite the group’s specialist banking franchise, which has been languishing behind its rivals for nearly a decade. Fani Titi and Hendrik du Toit, who delivered their first set of results on Thursday, will have their work cut out for them as the sixth biggest bank’s specialist division has been dragging down returns for the broader group.
“The specialist bank has been the key area of disappointment over the past few years, which has resulted in the return on equity the business generates being well below that of their South African peers,” says Richard Hasson, a fund manager at Electus Fund Managers. Investec has struggled to improve its return on equity (ROE) since the global financial crisis began in 2008. For the six months ended September, ROE improved to 13.4% from 12.1% in 2018. The Standard Bank Group’s ROE, by contrast, was 17.2% in the 2018 financial year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The duo repla...
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