Africa-Press – South-Africa. Kenny Fihla has been appointed CEO of Standard Bank South Africa, replacing former Treasury Director General Lungisa Fuzile.
Standard Bank South Africa is the biggest bank in the country by assets and the most valuable country in the bank’s African portfolio of 20 nations.
This is a sudden appointment, effective 1 September 2024, but has been coming for a few years as Fihla took on additional responsibilities within the bank.
Fihla has been at Standard Bank for nearly two decades, spending most of his time within the bank’s Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) division.
Fuzile, on the other hand, had been a public servant for two decades in the National Treasury before becoming Standard Bank South Africa CEO in 2018.
Standard Bank has been performing exceptionally well in the past few years. Income has grown at an average rate of 7% since 2014, while earnings have grown on average by 10% a year.
In the first half of 2024, the bank delivered returns well above the cost of equity and an ROE within its ROE target range of 17% to 20%.
On Friday, the bank announced executive appointments to “simplify and strengthen its management structures, to improve its competitiveness in the short to medium term, and to continue its strong growth momentum.”
These appointments are effective from 1 September 2024.
These appointments will enable our executive team to focus more precisely on their mandates and continue developing their expertise and networks, the bank said in a statement.
These changes will also assist in ensuring Standard Bank has the number and depth of executives it needs to maintain its operations into the future.
Further, these changes continue the process of allocating senior expertise to the areas of highest potential growth and, therefore, increasing capital allocation.
Fihla has been appointed as Deputy Chief Executive of the Group and CEO of The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (SBSA), the most lucrative part of the bank’s portfolio and the largest bank in South Africa by assets.
As Deputy Chief Executive of the Group, Fihla will assume responsibility for SBSA and the Group’s African regions and Offshore businesses. He will continue to report to Group CEO, Sim Tshabalala.
Luvuyo Masinda has been tipped to succeed FIhla as CEO of Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), to succeed Kenny Fihla.
Masinda joined Standard Bank in 2007 in the finance function and has held the roles of CFO, Chief Risk Officer, and Head of Client Coverage for CIB before being appointed as its Deputy Chief Executive in October 2023.
Lungisa Fuzile, the current CEO of SBSA, will now take on two roles.
The first is the Group Head of Public Policy and Regulation. He will also assume the role of Regional Chief Executive of the Group’s Southern & Central Region of the Africa Regions portfolio.
Yinka Sanni, current CEO of Standard Bank Africa Regions and Offshore, will take on the role of Group Executive, leading the Group’s relationships with some of our top clients and regulators.
In addition to these duties, Yinka will support Kenny Fihla in refining the structure of the Africa Regions and Offshore businesses.
Lungisa Fuzile and Yinka Sanni will report to Deputy Group Chief Executive Kenny Fihla.
“Kenny Fihla is a most experienced and successful executive – a leader’s leader of immense effectiveness, having served the Group in various senior executive roles over the past 18 years,” Group CEO Tshabalala said.
“I look forward to working even more closely in partnership with Kenny as we develop and execute the Group’s strategy. I have no doubt that the Group’s subsidiary network will continue to flourish and expand under Kenny’s leadership.”
“ I am delighted that we will continue to be able to draw on Lungisa’s and Yinka’s talents in their new capacities.”
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