The curator of African Bank has appointed Brian Riley as the chief executive designate of the “good bank” that will be formed out of the collapsed bank.
Curator Tom Winterboer said this week that Riley will also be the chief executive of the “good bank’s” new holding company, New HoldCo.
Riley’s appointment is subject to approval by the Registrar of Banks. His employment contract is with African Bank and will be changed at the appropriate time, as will be the case with other employees of African Bank, Winterboer says.
His initial focus will be on the development of the financial, operational and brand strategy for the “good bank”.
Riley retired in December 2013 after serving for seven years as chief executive of Wesbank, a division of FirstRand Bank. Before he joined Wesbank in 1988, Riley held positions at British financial services companies, including Lloyds and Scottish Finance Group.
On Wednesday, the National Assembly adopted the Banks Amendment Bill, paving the way for a “good bank” to be spun out of African Bank. The Bill gives the curators of failed banks the right to sell bank assets and liabilities and to change capital structures without investors’ consent. There was opposition to the bill from holders of subordinate debt in African Bank, which said the bill would undermine their rights.