DA demands final report on African Bank collapse be made public

04 April 2016 - 12:05 By TMG Digital

The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday said it welcomed the “launch of the new African Bank”‚ but also demanded answers as to why the final report of the investigation into it demise “has not been made public”. The announcement early last month that the commencement of operations at Good Bank had been set for April 4 was lauded last month as “a significant milestone in the delivery of the African Bank restructuring” process.African Bank Limited of South Africa was placed under curatorship in August 2014‚ and the plans for the new bank were received with the overwhelming support of its creditors.African Bank ready to rise from the ashes“We need to know whether a bunch of crooks were responsible for the collapse of African Bank‚” the DA’s David Maynier said on Monday.“The final report of the formal independent investigation launched into African Bank‚ in terms of Section 69 (A) of the Banks Act (No 94 of 1990)‚ which was conducted by Advocate John Myburgh‚ has never been made public.”The probe – started by former South African Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus – looked in “whether or not any business of African Bank”:- “Was conducted recklessly‚ negligently or with the intent to defraud depositors‚ other creditors or any other person for any fraudulent purpose; and- “Was involved in any questionable management practices or material non-disclosures‚ with the intent to defraud depositors or other creditors.”“The investigation lasted five months and the final report was reportedly completed by 27 February 2015‚” said Maynier‚ but added “for more than a year the final report has been swept under the carpet”.Maynier said he has written to the current Reserve Bank governor‚ asking for an assurance “that the final report of the investigation will be made public” and “an indication of when” it will be done.Last month‚ Webber Wentzel partner Johannes Gouws described the creation of the new bank as “a long and complex process during which the complexities of restructuring a bank within the South African legal framework were highlighted”.Linklaters partner Richard Levy echoed this‚ saying: "It has been some years since a significant South African bank faced a crisis of this nature. This has led to an amendment of South African banking legislation‚ which marks the prospect of further banking resolution law reform in South Africa.”Gouws said this‚ SA’s only experience of a bank curatorship in recent history‚ was achieved “through the hard work of the curator and his advisory team‚ as well as the management teams at African Bank and Good Bank‚ and with the unwavering support of the South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury”.The Reserve Bank will be contributing to the R10-billion capitalisation to be used to establish the new group along with the Government Employees Pension Fund in South Africa and a consortium of South African banks...

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