If Capitec's share price, which has surged almost 50% in the year to date, is anything to go by, the bank is run by the smartest bankers in South Africa. Chief financial officer André du Plessis said as much this week when he boasted: "No one is smarter than us."A Capitec share, at R502, is one of the priciest banking stocks on the local bourse. The stock has surged 47.6% this year, outstripping most of its rivals' share prices and the JSE's banking index.In the same period, Nedbank fell by more than 12%, Barclays Africa gave back 6.4%, Standard Bank fell 5.9% and FirstRand retreated by 3.5%.Capitec, which has its roots in the microlending business, grew its market value from R21-billion to R57-billion in about 21 months, which means that under Gerrie Fourie, the Stellenbosch-based bank's head honcho who took over in January last year, the group has been expanding its market value by about R1.9-billion a month.mini_story_image_hleft1With growth of a million customers a year, Capitec remains arguably the fastest-growing bank in the country.It is not surprising, then, that the group continues to expand its branch network so aggressively. Fourie said some of the branches "face capacity constraints. Our biggest challenge is to handle our growth and making certain that our clients get the service that we promised."Fourie is not rattled by Discovery Holdings's plan to enter the banking sector. Discovery conquered the health and life insurance sector and has the fastest-growing short-term insurance offering in the market. Fourie said the groups were vying for different markets.Discovery has just over two million clients, who belong in the high-income market; Capitec's core clients are low-income earners, Fourie said. For example, 10% of its 6.7million active customers are employed in the mining sector.Fourie said that should Discovery try to steal its lunch, the group would fight back to protect it.Jannie Mouton, founder of PSG Financial Services and Capitec Bank, is continually impressed by the bank's management and its growth.He said he once pushed for the unsecured lender to try selling funeral services and airtime, among other products - as well as expand beyond South African borders. However, the group's executives convinced him that there were still abundant opportunities to reap in South Africa, and the bank needs to stick to its knitting.story_article_right1"They are focused on what they are doing and they are doing it exceptionally well," Mouton said.The group will launch a credit card next year, something that is expected to attract more clients . The bank's transaction-fee income in the six months to the end of August grew 18%, driven by new banking clients. Loan sales grew by 18% to just over R11-billion . Its interim headline earnings grew 25% to R1.47-billion.Some analysts are concerned that the group may not be able to repeat its strong financial performance in the current six months - especially with the economy slowing down.Fourie and his team increased the group's provisioning by 11% due to uncertainty in the mining sector. Doubtful debts increased by 13% to R4.2billion.But Sasha Naryshkine, director at Vestact Asset Management, said the bank should be able to sustain its growth as it introduces more offerings to its clients.lefifit@sundaytimes.co.za..