African Bank appoints industry leader Zweli Manyathi as Group CEO

Johannesburg - The Board of African Bank has appointed seasoned, industry leader Zweli Manyathi as interim Group CEO (subject to regulatory approvals) effective Friday, 6 March 2026 to lead the diversified African Bank through the next consolidation phase.

After five years as Group Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Bungane is stepping down on 6 March 2026 after leading the Excelerate strategy, which aimed to transform the Bank from a mono line unsecured lender into a customer centric, data- and digitally-enabled, diversified, sustainable and scalable personal, business and commercial bank. The organic growth into new business areas together with acquisitions of UBank, Grindrod Bank and some Sasfin Bank businesses brought in new capabilities in personal and business banking whilst growing and diversifying the Bank's balance sheet.

The Board has selected African Bank's highly-regarded Chief Executive of Business and Commercial Banking, Mr Manyathi, to lead the Bank as it seeks to consolidate and bed down its acquisitions, drive efficiencies and streamline its customer propositions.

The leadership changes are subject to African Bank obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.

The Board is committed to a smooth transition which will allow African Bank to continue its transformation to a diversified, fully-fledged financial institution that services both personal and business customers.

Mr Manyathi has worked alongside Mr Bungane for the last four years and has overseen the Business and Commercial Banking division, which has played a key role in African Bank's growth and diversification strategy. He managed the acquisition of Grindrod Bank and some of Sasfin's businesses which strengthened African Bank's Business and Commercial proposition, aiding its expansion into the MSME sector.

Mr Manyathi is a highly-regarded banking executive with extensive leadership experience in the banking sector in South Africa. He was CEO of Business and Commercial at Standard Bank, where he oversaw strategic direction and contributed to financial service delivery. Prior to this, Mr Manyathi held numerous executive and senior positions some of which were, CE: FNB Branch Banking, CE: FNB Corporate Banking, supporting banking service expansion and driving organisational performance.   

The Board thanks Mr Bungane for his service, which unlocked value from African Bank's expanded capabilities and strengthened franchise.

The Board is confident that African Bank will, under Manyathi's stewardship, deliver on its obligations and seize emerging opportunities to build a stronger, more sustainable Bank for all stakeholders.