Zweli Manyathi has worked closely with Kennedy Bungane over the past four years and has been instrumental in building the bank’s business and commercial banking operations.
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African Bank has appointed seasoned banking executive Zweli Manyathi as interim Group CEO, effective 6 March 2026, as the lender enters the next phase of consolidating its recent acquisitions and expanding its diversified banking operations.
The appointment, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, follows the decision by current Group CEO Kennedy Bungane to step down after five years at the helm.
Bungane led the bank through a major transformation under its Excelerate strategy, which aimed to reposition African Bank from a mono-line unsecured lender into a diversified financial institution offering personal, business and commercial banking services.
During his tenure, the bank broadened its operations through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. These included the purchase of UBank, Grindrod Bank and selected businesses from Sasfin Bank, moves that strengthened African Bank’s capabilities across personal and business banking while expanding and diversifying its balance sheet.
The board on Friday said the transformation laid the foundation for African Bank’s evolution into a customer-centric, data-driven and digitally enabled financial institution.
To lead this next phase, the board selected Manyathi, who currently serves as African Bank’s chief executive of Business and Commercial Banking.
Manyathi has worked closely with Bungane over the past four years and has been instrumental in building the bank’s business and commercial banking operations. His division played a key role in the bank’s diversification strategy and expansion into the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.
He also led the acquisition of Grindrod Bank and selected Sasfin businesses, which significantly strengthened African Bank’s business and commercial banking proposition.
The board said Manyathi’s experience and deep knowledge of the organisation make him well suited to guide the bank through its next stage of development.
“Mr Manyathi is a highly regarded banking executive with extensive leadership experience in the South African banking sector,” the board said.
Before joining African Bank, Manyathi held several senior leadership roles at Standard Bank, where he served as chief executive of Business and Commercial Banking. In that position, he oversaw strategic direction and played a key role in expanding financial service delivery to businesses.
Earlier in his career, he held a number of executive positions at First National Bank (FNB), including chief executive of Branch Banking and chief executive of Corporate Banking. In these roles, he helped drive the expansion of banking services while supporting organisational performance and growth.
The board said the leadership transition is expected to be smooth, noting that Manyathi has already been deeply involved in the bank’s strategic direction.
African Bank chairman Thabo Dloti said the board is committed to a smooth transition.
“We are confident that Zweli provides a safe and skilled pair of hands, together with the rest of the executive team, to steer the Group to continue its transformation to a diversified, fully-fledged financial institution that services both personal and business customers,” Dloti said.
“We thank him for taking up the role as well as the rest of the capable executive team.”
African Bank has spent the past several years rebuilding and repositioning itself following its historic collapse in 2014. Since then, the lender has pursued a strategy of diversification to reduce its reliance on unsecured lending and create a broader banking platform.
Under Bungane’s leadership, the bank strengthened its franchise, expanded its product offerings and integrated several acquisitions aimed at building a more sustainable and scalable banking model.
The board thanked Bungane for his contribution in unlocking value from the bank’s expanded capabilities and strengthening the African Bank brand.
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