Capitec Bank has secured approval from the South African government and other regulatory authorities for its acquisition of Mercantile Business Bank.
Both the banks will now run independently with retail clients served in Capitec branches and business banking clients referred to Mercantile.
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Mercantile Bank was founded in South Africa in 1965 and is owned by Caixa Geral De Depósitos, which is claimed to be the largest bank in Portugal.
The bank provides a range of international and local banking services to professionals, with a particular focus on the Portuguese market.
Its Alliance Banking division provides credit card, debit card and payment services to businesses in the financial service industry, while the Treasury division offers customers with a full suite of foreign exchange products.
Capitec said that the acquisition provides a firm foundation for its business banking offering.
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By GlobalData“There’s an opportunity to offer a business banking solution, which is based on the same fundamentals that made Capitec successful in the retail banking sector, to any small business needing a no frills digitally lead banking solution,” Capitec said in a statement.
Capitec obtained an average client growth of about 200 000 clients a month in the last 6sixmonths. Its active client base now sits at more than 12.6 million, which is claimed to be the largest in the country.
