I had an experience this weekend I thought I would share with you. I was out for dinner over the weekend and decided to settle my bill using my debit card. So the waitress kindly swipes my card, asks me to enter my pin number and I do so, only for their ‘machine’ to decline my card. I was in shock as I knew there was sufficient funds in that account. So the waitress asks me if she should try again and I say yes, thinking that maybe there was a technical problem. We tried again and same result. Luckily I had another card from a different bank which I then used and that went through with no problems. Read the rest of this entry »

Today saw the largest foreign investment in Africa when it was announced that The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was to buy 20% of Standard Bank for R36,7bn in cash. This would be the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese commercial bank. Many questions are already being thrown around such as, “Is this a good move for Standard Bank?”, “Who is going to benefit the most from this deal?” and “Are South African banks following the same suite of English Football teams by being taken over by foreigners?” Read the rest of this entry »

This week Standard Bank released a cautionary statement to the market indicating that the bank is in talks that could have a material impact on its share price. Speculation was rife on the market with suggests that Stand Bank maybe in the process of lining up a take over of some sort. But a report on Fin24.co.za states that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is to acquire a stake of about 20% in Standard Bank. An official announcement has not been made yet and one is expected to be made later on today (Thursday).

As the news breaks be sure to check it out on The Rand Today.

Shares in one of South Africa’s leading banks, Standard Bank, closed 3.75% higher yesterday at R109.45, this after the bank issued a cautionary statement yesterday.

Under the rules of the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), a listed firm has to announce a cautionary statement if they are in the process of a deal that could affect more than 10% of their market capitalisation. This signals that Standard Bank could be involved in a deal of around R4 billion. Read the rest of this entry »