FirstRand CEO Says African Bank Not a Proxy for Industry

FirstRand Ltd., Africa’s biggest bank by market value, said unsecured lending was the least of its issues and criticized ratings companies for seeing failed African Bank Investment Ltd. as a proxy for the industry.

“This seems to be behind the curve,” Chief Executive Officer Sizwe Nxasana said in an Oct. 7 interview at the Four Seasons Hotel in Geneva, where he was meeting Swiss private banks and other investors. “It’s completely overplayed. African Bank has African Bank issues and isn’t a proxy for what’s happening in the broader unsecured-lending business.”