Saviour Chibiya, head of Absa’s regional operations, is going nowhere after the bank’s board foiled group CEO Arrie Rautenbach’s plan to replace him with an executive from Mauritius.
Business Times reported in May how Absa was caught up in another transformation storm after a board shake up that overlooked black executives and Rautenbach’s move to announce a plan to replace Chibiya with Ravin Dajee, head of Absa operations in Mauritius.
The plan had been hampered with Chibiya challenging it and senior black executives pushing back against the move given the division’s strong performance in 2023.
A source within the financial services group said on Thursday that Chibiya will no longer be exiting the bank after intervention by the board.
“It appears that the board forced them to shake hands and we believe that it is the right outcome for the bank, black professionals and for Saviour,” said the source.
While Absa had declined to comment in May when citing employer/employee confidentiality, the company on Friday could neither deny nor confirm whether board intervention had saved Chibiya’s job.
“As previously communicated, Saviour Chibiya is CEO of Absa Regional Operations”, a bank spokesperson said.
Another source close to the bank confirmed that Chibiya remains in his role because of action by the board.
“The board found out about plans to replace Chibiya in the report by Business Times in May and started asking questions. After not being convinced by the CEO’s explanation about Chibiya, the CEO was forced to reverse his decision. It is a good move for transformation at the bank,” said the source.
Chibiya did not respond to text messages and calls from Business Times by the time of going to print.
He is an economist and veteran banker and began in his career in Zambia. He joined the group in 2010 as MD of Barclays Bank in Zambia.
Chibiya’s division covers operations including Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Tanzania and Zambia. Africa operations contributed 44% of the group’s bottom line in the year to end-December helping to cushion the group against the poor performance of its operations in South Africa.
Absa faced a mini revolt when aggrieved black executives criticised Rautenbach over the other senior personnel changes announced in April.
In an executive shake up, Absa appointed Deon Raju as group financial director. Raju was previously the group chief risk officer and a former group treasurer. A chartered accountant with 20 years’ experience Raju succeeded Jason Quinn, who has moved to Nedbank as CEO.
The group also named Rajal Vaidya interim group chief risk officer, while Christine Wu replaced Cowyk Fox as CEO of the Everyday Banking business unit.
Absa said at the time the changes were “aimed at accelerating the execution of the group’s strategy to create superior commercial performance and enhance market competitiveness”.
However, Absa defended the appointments announced in May, saying they were “meticulously crafted to propel our growth objectives and fortify our position in the market”.
The board changes irked some insiders who said the appointments had caused ructions as some believed proper processes were not followed and that the changes were a setback to transformation.
Absa came under fire in 2022 for appointing Rautenbach to replace Daniel Mminele — its first black CEO, who lasted only 16 months in the role after clashing with the board over strategy and direction.
The Public Investment Corporation, with a 5% stake in the banking group, expressed its disappointment at the time, describing the appointment as a “missed opportunity” to demonstrate a commitment to transformation.
Absa’s financial performance is also in the spotlight as the company said in a trading statement in June that its headline earnings would likely fall by mid to high single digits in the first half of 2024 and its earnings expected to decline by high single digits to low double digits.
This is lower than competitor Standard Bank whose headline earnings grew by low to mid single digits for the five months period ended May 31 2024.
Absa said as a result of the lower earnings, its return on equity was about 14% for the period, from 15.7%.
In its full-year to December 2023 financial results, Absa reported in March that headline earnings rose just 1% in the year, with bad debts rising sharply and profits dropping in its retail businesses. Headline earnings in South Africa dropped 18%, but its Africa region came to the rescue with a 124% increase.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.