When Investec announced that it had appointed joint CEOs, one black and one white, it threw the focus onto bank transformation. Business Leadership South Africa CEO Bonang Mohale criticised the step, but Investec says it often pairs people as part of a policy that has nothing to do with race. The latest industry report by the Banking Association South Africa says "black people constitute a majority of all managers in the banking industry". But before you break open the champagne, the report also states: "Most of the gains have occurred at the junior to middle management levels." When you visit one of Investec's splendidly organised gatherings, you notice that at senior levels the bank is not representative of South Africa. In fact, it's pretty white. In a recent interview with Business Day, outgoing CEO Stephen Koseff, who will be retiring in October, said Investec put meritocracy before employment equity. Business Times asked him if the two should be at odds, because the assumption...
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