South Africa’s oldest bank loses decade-long battle

FirstRand, the parent company of First National Bank (FNB), has lost an almost ten-year-long court battle involving a trademark dispute with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).

The dispute dates back to 2017, when the UAE-based bank applied to register trademarks in South Africa as part of its strategy to expand into the country.

FirstRand opposed the trademark registration, initially arguing that the FAB trademark would infringe on its own FNB trademark due to their similarity.

In 2023, the Pretoria High Court dismissed FirstRand’s opposition, as well as its subsequent appeal application, on the grounds that it had no reasonable prospect of success.

FirstRand then applied for a reconsideration of the dismissal with the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which was granted.

The group now argued that FAB had no serious intention to use the trademark, as it did not hold a banking license in South Africa and had not applied for one at the time.

FAB responded that it had deliberately applied for the trademark before the licence, and said securing the trademark was always the first step in its South African expansion strategy.

On 7 July 2026, the SCA ruled that if FAB’s trademark was approved, there was no reason to doubt it would obtain a banking licence and comply with the legal requirements to operate in South Africa.

This is because FAB already operates and holds those trademarks in more than 20 countries across five continents, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

As a result of the SCA’s ruling, the application was struck from the roll, with FirstRand being ordered to pay FAB’s legal costs.

Denker Capital Banking Analyst Kokkie Kooyman told 702 that the next likely step for FAB would be to apply for a banking licence in order to get its South African operations going.

“Its loan book is roughly split 80% corporate and 20% retail,” Kooyman said. “It’s predominantly a corporate bank.”

“If you ask why it would come into South Africa, I’m sure it’s to participate in a lot of development banking and corporate banking in Africa.”

International banks eyeing South Africa

FAB is just one major global banking player which has set its sights on expanding operations into the South African market.

British financial services group Revolut announced in September 2025 that it had begun an expansion plan to launch in South Africa by the year 2028.

Following the announcement, the company submitted an application to the South African Reserve Bank to be granted a banking licence.

Once this has been approved, Revolut said it will officially launch with products tailored specifically for the South African market, including a zero-fee account option.

“We are already seeing exceptional demand for our product, and our waitlist is fast approaching 100,000 registrations,” Revolut South Africa CEO Jacques Meyer said.

“We aren’t interested in chasing customer acquisition numbers for the sake of a headline. Our focus is on delivering a majorly disruptive experience that fundamentally upgrades how people manage their money.”

Kooyman explained that Revolut planned to come into South Africa with a heavier focus on retail banking, specifically with regard to foreign exchange.

However, he warned that success for both Revolut and FAB to expand into South Africa is still likely to be an uphill battle.

This is because they would need to win the approval of the South African people, who already have a multitude of well-established local banks from which they can choose.

While Revolut has become a relatively established name in the banking world over the last few years, Kooyman said FAB might not be as recognisable to South Africans at first.

As a result, it would likely need to spend much more on advertising and specifically target South Africa’s Muslim population through the various Islamic banking products it will offer.

“They might have an easy way in, but they would have to prove that they are serious about South Africa,” Kooyman said. “It will be a year or two before they can write their first loan.”

“But there’s something important to keep in mind: the track record of international banks coming to South Africa and succeeding is zero.”