South Africa's Absa Appoints Head of Financial Services Unit

Posted 04 January 2007 @ 04:40 pm EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's biggest retail lender Absa has appointed Willie Lategan as executive director of its Financial Services unit, the bank said on Thursday. The appointment took effect at the beginning of the year following the retirement of Charles Erasmus who previously held the post.

Lategan, who previously was managing executive of the unit, will also sit on the Absa group executive committee. He joined the Absa group in 1995 and also serves on the board of the Life Offices' Association of South Africa.

The Financial Services unit comprises the group's bancassurance operations including Absa Life, Absa Insurance, Absa Investment Management Services, Absa Stockbrokers and Absa Portfolio Managers.

The unit posted attributable earnings of 560 million rand during the six months to June, 16.3 percent of group results. Absa Group Ltd, a subsidiary of Britain's Barclay Plc, in August posted a 20.4 percent gain in first-half headline earnings per share to 520.7 cents but said full-year earnings growth may be lower.

Absa shares, which gained 24 percent last year, fell 1.7 percent to 123.91 rand by 0955 GMT, in line with a weaker blue-chip Top-40 index.