Former banking regulator Errol Kruger dies

Errol Kruger, the former banking regulator who is credited with having navigated SA’s banking sector through the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, has died at the age of 67.

Kruger, a passionate football fan, had been in London to attend the FA Cup semifinal match at Wembley on Saturday.

He spent 34 years at the Reserve Bank and was registrar of banks — the post that is now CEO of the Prudential Authority — from 2003 to 2011. He took over as registrar in the aftermath of SA’s 2002-03 banking crisis and under his watch the banking system stabilised.

Known as an extremely conscientious regulator — intrusive even — he was in constant contact with the leadership of SA’s banks to ensure they were on top of any risks that arose.

As registrar he represented SA as a full member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which implemented a series of more stringent industry regulations after the global financial crisis. He successfully project managed SA’s early adoption and full implementation of the revised Basel core principles for effective banking supervision as well as Basel II.

Kruger took early retirement in 2011 and moved to Qatar to head up banking regulation there, as MD of supervision and authorisation at the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority. He relinquished the role in 2016 to return to SA, where he joined the Nedbank and Nedbank Group boards as an independent non-executive director. He was also a non-executive director of Capital Appreciation and chaired the board of Nedbank Private Wealth (Isle of Man).

Nedbank said at the weekend that Kruger’s insights and commitment to excellence had left an indelible mark on the banking group.

“We are deeply saddened by the news of Errol’s passing. Errol was not just a colleague but a dear friend to many of us. Other than being a great pillar of strength on the Nedbank boards in recent years, Errol will also be remembered for his exceptional stewardship of the SA banking sector during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008,” Nedbank chair Daniel Mminele said.

Kruger is survived by his daughters Leigh-Anne and Hayley.