Absa chair Sello Moloko, fresh from spearheading the appointment of the group’s new CEO, Kenny Fihla, is stepping down after just three years in the role — a move that does little to assure markets that the lender, prone to leadership instability, has mended its ways.
The group said Moloko, who took over as chair in April 2022, has stepped down to focus on his business interests and “community commitments”.
He would be replaced by the lender’s former acting CEO René van Wyk in mid-July when he officially steps down.
Moloko’s vast business interests include Thesele Group, which is part of a consortium bidding for the lucrative national lottery licence.
Van Wyk, who sits on the Absa board, held the role of registrar of banks and head of banking supervision of the SA Reserve Bank until May 2016.
Absa — which has more than 55,000 local and foreign shareholders, including retail investors, asset managers, pension and sovereign wealth funds — has been prone to leadership instability for a sustained period, sapping staff morale in the process.
The group acknowledged in its 2024 annual report, published last month, that it is experiencing a dip in employee satisfaction.
The annual report shows the employee experience index declined from 71.5 in 2023 to 64.6 in 2024, falling short of its target of 70.
Acting CEO Charles Russon in his letter to shareholders said management recognises the need for institutional change to shape new narratives that support a desired culture of performance.
“We have some work ahead as we actively seek to enhance employee engagement through deliberate and specific strategies to ensure that we create an environment where our diverse workforce can thrive,” he said.
“The challenging internal environment of the past year has undoubtedly influenced these outcomes, underscoring the need for us to focus our efforts for positive change through our culture transformation journey into 2025.”
Fihla, a well-respected banker, moved to Absa from bigger rival Standard Bank — where he held the role of deputy CEO and ran the group’s SA and rest of Africa businesses — a role that gave him a say in the lender’s strategy.
Fihla, who takes over the role in June, becomes the seventh Absa CEO, either on an acting or permanent basis, since 2019 after years of leadership turmoil at the bank.
When Maria Ramos retired in 2019 after a decade in the role, she was replaced temporarily by Van Wyk, who acted in the role for a year.
The lender then roped in former Reserve Bank deputy governor Daniel Mminele as CEO, who lasted just 16 months in the role after clashes with the board over strategy.
Jason Quinn acted in the role until Arrie Rautenbach was appointed to the position in 2022. Rautenbach took early retirement last year and was temporarily replaced by Russon, who will now hand over the reins to Fihla.
All the while, the lender’s return on equity (ROE) has remained lower than its SA peers and has been a focus area for medium-term improvement — with the group having set a target of improving its ROE to 16% in 2026.
The leadership changes also occur while the lender, after feedback from its clients, customers and investors, has commenced a review of the SA Retail businesses to allow the group to better align with strategic goals of creating a successful retail ecosystem.
Makwe Masilela, from Makwe Fund Managers, said the latest unexpected leadership change at Absa did not bode well for the group and was likely to unsettle its incoming CEO, who comes from a culture of leadership stability at Standard Bank.
“Market participants were looking forward to [Fihla and Moloko] working together. One will be excused to think that as the bank, they don’t view leadership the way most investors do and the company’s track record doesn’t look good,” Makwe said.
“But maybe we should also be asking why senior bank officials don’t hesitate to just leave when they are offered something better somewhere ... it is like they’re forever in the departure lounge ... [a] recent example is Fihla himself.”
With Jacqueline Mackenzie
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