African Bank re-launched more than one year after collapse

The Johannesburg-based African Bank, which was placed under curatorship on August 10, 2014, was re-launched on Monday.

The bank keeps its previous name and corporate identity, with an equity base of 10 billion rand (about 666 million U.S. dollars) and a cash position of about 24 billion rand (about 1.6 billion dollars), the bank said.

"About two-thirds of the bank's issued debt is today listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Ltd, the London Stock Exchange and the Swiss Securities Exchange. The remaining third will be held in the form of unlisted corporate bilateral deposits," the bank said in a statement.

The bank will provide a host of financial products, moving away from its previous business model of unsecured lending to include services such as financial advice, according to the statement.

The bank was placed under curatorship in August 2014 after the National Credit Regulator (NCR) found the bank guilty of reckless lending at 25 of its branches countrywide.

Responding to the re-launch, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said it wants to know whether a bunch of crooks were responsible for the collapse of the bank.

The final report of the formal independent investigation launched into the bank has never been made public.

The investigation was instituted by former Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Gill Marcus on August 30, 2014.

The investigation lasted five months and the final report was reportedly completed by Feb. 27, 2015.

"However, for more than a year the final report has been swept under the carpet," DA Shadow Minister of Finance David Maynier said.

Maynier said he has written to SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago, requesting him to provide reasons why the final report of the investigation into African Bank has not been made public and give an assurance that the report be made public. Enditem