Kenny Fihla, the newly appointed CEO of Absa Group, has outlined his strategy to modernise and strengthen the bank’s retail banking operations in South Africa.
This initiative comes as the bank aims to establish stability following a period of leadership changes, with Fihla being the sixth CEO since Maria Ramos’ departure in 2019, reported Reuters.
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Claimed to be the third-largest bank in South Africa by assets, Absa has been striving to enhance its performance and innovate since its separation from Barclays in 2020.
However, the frequent changes in leadership have impacted the bank’s profitability. After Ramos retired in 2019, Absa was led by two permanent and three interim CEOs before Fihla took the helm in June.
Fihla acknowledged the challenges faced by the retail sector, stating, “There’s no doubt that our retail business in South Africa was effectively trapped in a time (when) others were innovating and getting better ways of delivering to the client. We were stuck in a particular era.”
In a strategic shift, the bank has reversed the previous CEO Arrie Rautenbach’s decision to divide its retail banking operations into three separate units, opting instead for a unified approach.
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By GlobalData“We’re starting to see some early wins (in our retail business) in terms of the growth in client numbers and the growth in the number of clients who are transacting with us from the digital platform,” Fihla noted.
He expressed optimism about the future, stating, “Once we have appointed permanent leaders to run all of these businesses, I think we are likely to see an increase in the pace of execution and far greater momentum developing going into 2026.”
Key areas of focus for Absa include the enhancement of mobile and digital services, the integration of AI, and the introduction of value-added services, an improved rewards programme, and financial coaching tools.
Looking beyond South Africa, Fihla aims to expand the bank’s market presence across its 11 African countries, with plans to merge its two operations in Tanzania.
He also indicated interest in exploring larger markets where Absa currently lacks a presence.
In Nigeria, where the bank maintains a representative office, Fihla remarked, “we’d want to do more. But the environment must be right before we can think about significant scaling up.”
