Standard Bank Group Chief Executive Officer, Sim Tshabalala has announced new executive leadership appointments that will see Kenny Fihla, Luvuyo Masinda, Lungisa Fuzile, and Yinka Sanni in new roles within the bank.

Kenny Fihla has been appointed as the deputy chief executive of the Standard Bank Group and Chief Executive of the Standard Bank of South Africa.

In a video announcement, Sim Tshabalala said Kenny is assuming responsibility for, among others, the Standard Bank in South Africa and for the Group’s Africa regions.

“Kenny will continue to report to me. Kenny Fisher is a most experienced and successful executive, a leader's leader of immense effectiveness. I look forward to working in close partnership with Kenny as we develop and execute the Group strategy, and I'm sure that the Group subsidiary network will continue to flourish and expand under Kenny's leadership.”

Luvuyo Masinda, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Corporate and Investment Banking assumes the new role of Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking to succeed Kenny Fihla.

Said Sim Tshabalala, “Luvuyo has demonstrated extraordinary talent and effectiveness in a range of senior roles in the Group's finance and corporate and investment banking division, including, most recently, Deputy Chief Executive of corporate and investment banking.”

Next, Lungisa Fuzile, who has served Standard Bank of South Africa with great distinction as chief executive, now takes up the two roles of firstly, Group Head, Public Policy and Regulation, and second, Regional Chief Executive, South and Central Region Standard Bank Group.

“Lungisa has been an outstandingly successful leader of the Standard Bank of South Africa, and has remarkable wisdom and deep experience in economics, public policy and regulatory matters. The new role of Head, Public Policy and Regulation reflects the profound importance of these areas to the group's profitability, sustainability and capacity to fulfill our purpose,” said Tshabalala.

Yinka Sanni, Chief Executive of Standard Bank Africa regions and offshore, takes on the role of Group Executive, in addition to supporting Kenny Fihla in refining the structure of the Africa regions and offshore businesses, according to Tshabalala, who said the changes are expected to simplify and strengthen the group's management structure, improve its competitiveness in the short to medium term, and continue its strong growth momentum over the long term.

“They will also enable our executive team as a whole to focus more precisely on their mandates and to continue to develop their expertise and their networks.”

“These changes will assist in the ongoing process of ensuring that the Standard Bank Group has the number and depth of executives it needs to maintain and extend our success into the future, the Standard Bank Group remains firmly on track to achieve our financial targets for the year.

“These are revenue growth of between 7 and 9% on average between 2020 and 2025, a cost/income ratio approaching 50% in 2025, and a return on equity that remains well inside our target range of 17 to 20%.

“We are actively pursuing growth opportunities in three areas over the medium term. These are to become a leading financial services business in East Africa, to be the leading private bank in Africa, and to continue to lead Africa's energy transition.

“The changes to the executive team I'm announcing today will ensure that we are now even better placed to serve our clients with excellence, to deliver on our commitments, to win in our markets, to grow for our investors, to fulfill our purpose. Africa is our home. We drive her growth.”

Sim Tshabalala said the appointments have received the approval of the Board of the Standard Bank Group and the approval of the Prudential Authority, and have followed all the relevant governance requirements.