Anbann Chetti, chief financial officer of African Bank Holdings, has resigned with immediate effect, adding another senior leadership change at the South African lender.

Chetti’s resignation took effect Sept. 11 as he leaves to pursue other opportunities, African Bank said in an announcement. He also stepped down as an executive director of African Bank Limited and African All Cover Limited.

His departure automatically removes him from several board committees, including the assets and liabilities committee, special projects and large exposures committee, model risk, capital and funding crisis committee, capital raising committee and macroeconomic subcommittees.

Chetti leaves after three years at African Bank

Chetti joined African Bank as group CFO and executive director in August 2023 after leaving Capitec, where he served as divisional executive for the Finance Management Retail division.

He brought more than 20 years of experience in banking and financial services in South Africa, including senior finance positions at Nedbank and Standard Bank.

At Nedbank, Chetti held head of finance and CFO roles in the private wealth and corporate banking businesses. Earlier in his career, he worked at Standard Bank in global markets, interest rate and money market operations and acquisition finance.

He began his career at Absa as head of specialised finance transaction management while completing a master’s degree in international accountancy at the University of Johannesburg.

Chetti also holds a CTA and a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Durban Westville and has completed several executive development programs.

Given Mabena named acting CFO

African Bank’s board has appointed Given Bhutana Mabena as acting group CFO while it searches for a permanent replacement.

Mabena is a chartered accountant with an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand. He has 13 years of experience across finance and business, including eight years at Deloitte in audit and assurance.

His experience covers IFRS reporting, financial consolidation, taxation and financial planning and analysis. He has also worked in credit risk, portfolio performance and collections across retail and unsecured lending, card operations and payment schemes.

Mabena has handled capital resource management and regulatory reporting to the South African Reserve Bank, as well as credit modeling and pricing.

The appointment comes months after African Bank CEO Kennedy Bungane resigned with immediate effect in March.

The departures of the CEO and CFO put added focus on the bank’s leadership team as it operates under tighter regulatory and reporting requirements. By appointing Mabena from within the organization, the board has opted for an interim solution that keeps the finance function under an executive familiar with the bank while the search for a permanent CFO continues.

African Bank’s ownership and operations

African Bank Holdings is the bank-controlling company of African Bank Limited. Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Midrand, the lender provides personal loans, credit cards, savings and investment products through branches and digital channels across South Africa.

The bank is privately held, with the South African Reserve Bank, the Government Employees Pension Fund/Public Investment Corporation and a consortium of South African commercial banks among its major shareholders.