Acquisition of Mercantile Bank Holdings Limited and Its Subsidiaries (“Mercantile”) 

9 October 2019

We are pleased to announce that the Minister of Finance and other Regulatory Authorities have formally approved Capitec’s purchase and acquisition of Mercantile Business Bank. This is an exciting timing for both Capitec and Mercantile and brings new opportunities for both Capitec and Mercantile, for our Staff, for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs; as we build Capitec’s Business Banking offering off the “firm foundation” of Mercantile.

Why did we purchase Mercantile?

There’s an opportunity to offer a business banking solution, which is based on the same fundamentals that made Capitec successful in the retail banking sector, to any small business needing a no frills digitally lead banking solution. The acquisition of Mercantile will fast track the bank’s objective to expand its focus to a broader bank strategy.

Mercantile’s core business offer is banking for established small to medium sized enterprises and entrepreneurs. It is therefore well positioned to align with Capitec Bank’s business banking strategy. It was offered for sale by its shareholder, Caixa, a Portuguese bank, because it is divesting from non-core operations outside of Portugal as part of its recapitalisation plan.

Next Steps

For now, the two banks will be run independently with retail clients served in Capitec branches and Business Banking clients referred to Mercantile.

Our plan is to grow Mercantile Bank into Capitec’s Business Bank, we believe this will create exciting opportunities for both Mercantile and Capitec employees. Our need for skilled people will significantly increase to achieve this desired growth.

Issued by Capitec Bank, 9 Octob3er 2019