Top South African bank that has had seven CEOs in seven years going from zero to hero

After nearly a decade of leadership instability and falling behind its banking peers, Absa is set to benefit from a more diverse earnings base and faster-growing African markets.

The banking giant is also set for more stable leadership in the coming years, with former Standard Bank executive Kenny Fihla having taken the helm in June 2025.

Absa is one of South Africa’s biggest banks, listed among the so-called Big Four Banks alongside Standard Bank, Nedbank, and FirstRand (FNB).

However, it has struggled to remain competitive in recent years, largely due to instability at the C-suite level.

The bank boomed in the early 2000s under former CEO Maria Ramos, who held the top job for 10 years.

After her departure in 2019, Absa’s top job became a revolving door, with the bank having had seven CEOs in seven years. 

This instability at the top started to affect Absa’s performance, with Bloomberg ranking it as the worst-performing South African bank stock in 2024.

Financially, the group has experienced modest growth over the past few years, in contrast to other South African banks, which have boomed over that period.

For example, while Absa’s bottom line has grown by around 52% from R16.3 billion in 2019 to R24.8 billion in 2025, Standard Bank’s headline earnings have increased by 74% from R28.21 billion to R49.2 billion over the same period.

However, it appears as though Absa is set to turn this around and regain its competitive edge in the years to come.

Since taking over as CEO, Fihla has begun putting structures in place to ensure Absa does not repeat its revolving-door pattern over the past seven years.

He spent much of the first nine months of his tenure building out the group’s executive committee and filling key positions within the bank’s leadership structure. 

In addition, the CEO has plans to capitalise on Absa’s strong Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) unit to make it a pan-African banking giant.

He has also brought in key players from Standard Bank to replicate his team and ensure he has individuals who can execute his strategy effectively.

Analyst opinion

PSG Financial Services recently explained why it believes Absa is a “hold” position for investors, saying the bank is set to benefit from several tailwinds in the coming years.

PSG equity analyst Marnus Pienaar explained that Absa is set to benefit from a diversified earnings base across its retail, business, corporate, and investment banking operations in South Africa.

Given its strong exposure to South Africa, the lender will benefit from improving domestic operating conditions.

This includes easing load-shedding, moderating inflation and lower interest rates, all of which will support consumer activity, transactional volumes, and credit demand. 

Pienaar noted that there are some risks to this outlook, notably subdued South African GDP growth, elevated unemployment, and competitive pressures.

However, he said the bank’s presence in selected African markets is set to serve it well. 

He explained that Absa’s South African franchise is expected to support resilient earnings and capital generation, while its African operations will provide exposure to faster-growing markets.

The group’s African operations span banking, payments, and lending markets, which are set to support longer-term growth opportunities. 

While there are some foreign-exchange and sovereign risks associated with these markets, Pienaar said the structural growth opportunities in banking across Africa remain supportive.

In the meantime, he said Absa continues to deliver solid returns, supported by disciplined risk management, improving operational efficiency, and a diversified funding base. 

The bank’s capital levels also remain robust, supporting dividend distributions, balance-sheet flexibility, and continued investment in digital banking capabilities across the group.

This is why PSG supports a “hold” position for Absa, with the bank currently trading broadly in line with the asset manager’s intrinsic value of R240 per share.

This suggests that improving operational execution, resilient earnings, and the medium-term growth outlook are largely reflected in the valuation.

At the time of writing, Absa’s shares were trading at around R250 per share and were up 4.43% in the year to date.