Capitec dethrones FirstRand as Africa’s most valuable bank

Capitec Bank Holdings overtook FirstRand to become Africa’s most valuable bank, a month after a new chief executive officer took over at the lender that’s reported record profits for four straight years.

Capitec, South Africa’s biggest bank by customer numbers, jumped about 16% since January, outstripping peers on the FTSE/JSE Africa Bank Index, which has climbed 3.5% over the same period. FirstRand is down 1.7%.

The lender’s shares have surged 151,261% since its listing in February 2002. Under former Chief Executive Officer Gerrie Fourie, the bank’s focus on low-income depositors and unsecured lending helped lure customers. Still, competition is intensifying as rivals including Nedbank Group and new lender OM Bank seek to tap the low-income market.

Graham Lee took over from Fourie on July 19.

While Capitec’s market value has jumped to R424 billion ($24 billion), it remains the smallest South African lender in terms of total assets.