South African executive Ciko Thomas received total awarded compensation of R29.7 million ($1.8 million) from leading financial services provider Nedbank Group for the 2025 financial year, representing a 3.9 percent decline from R30.89 million ($1.87 million) the previous year as smaller short-term bonuses offset gains in his base salary.

The pay adjustment occurred despite a rise in the executive’s core salary package. Thomas, who serves as the managing executive of Nedbank’s personal and private banking unit, saw his guaranteed package increase 4.6 percent to R6.95 million ($422,000), supported by a 4.5 percent rise in base cash earnings.

The drop in total compensation came primarily from his short-term incentives, which fell 18.8 percent to R9.75 million ($591,230) due to reduced cash and deferred bonus allocations. Long-term incentive awards grew 6.1 percent to R13 million ($790,000), though lower overall vesting figures kept his final earned pay lower.

Compensation adjusts amid steady banking expansion

The compensation shifts happened alongside steady operational growth within the personal and private banking division. The business unit reported a 9 percent increase in headline earnings and improved its return on equity to 15.6 percent, while its credit loss ratio dropped to 158 basis points to stay within target limits.

Customer growth further supported the business unit during the fiscal year. Total clients expanded by 9 percent to 7.5 million, while main-banked customers rose 5 percent to 3.9 million, helped by steady demand for digital banking platforms, payment features, and consumer insurance lines like the MyCover product range.

Operationally, the lender expanded its market share in core domestic sectors, including retail deposits, vehicle finance, home loans, and overdrafts. The growth helped balance out minor market share contractions in the competitive credit card and personal loan segments, following recent corporate adjustments aimed at structural efficiency.

Nedbank’s retail unit stabilizes amid headwinds

The division also widened its community and small business support networks. Nedbank maintained competitive pricing on the PayShap network, conducted operational business workshops for over 36,000 township entrepreneurs, and increased its sustainable development finance portfolio to R39 billion ($2.36 billion), which represents 9 percent of loans.

Management addressed a few operational hurdles during the year, including an 11 percent rise in consumer complaints and tax-related administrative penalties. However, solid overall operational performance helped keep the retail business division stable, reflecting the executive’s extended tenure and structural strategy at the firm.

Thomas anchors Nedbank retail banking reorganization

Ciko Thomas has spent more than 15 years at Nedbank. He joined the lender in January 2010 as group executive for marketing, communications, and corporate affairs before being appointed managing executive of consumer banking later that year. In 2016, he became group managing executive of retail and business banking and now leads the personal and private banking division following the bank’s reorganization of its retail banking and wealth operations.

Before joining the Johannesburg-listed lender, Thomas held senior executive positions across diverse corporate sectors. His prior leadership history includes management roles at Barloworld Automotive, Absa Group, South African Breweries, Unilever, and M-Net, establishing a broad background in consumer goods, media, and retail financial services.