One of South Africa's banks will be in a fresh pair of hands by the end of this year, if the sale of niche lender Mercantile Bank runs according to plan. First announced in March by its state-owned Portuguese parent, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, the sale was given the go-ahead by the Portuguese government just before Christmas. It is now under way in earnest, with scores of interested bidders, according to CEO Karl Kumbier. Between 40 and 50 buyers, most of which are local, have expressed interest in buying the bank, Kumbier said this week. The ideal buyer would be one that supported Mercantile's ambition to become South Africa's top business bank and which could fund acquisitions of complementary financial services businesses, he said. Mercantile primarily banks entrepreneurs and small- to medium-sized enterprises. It has about 3,500 SME clients and provides a private banking offering to the 12,000-odd entrepreneurs linked to these businesses. It services an additional 18,000 merchant...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.