Analysis of corporate failures: a case study of two South African banks
- Authors: Mqomboti, Xitshembiso Pronacia
- Date: 2023-02
- Subjects: Business failures South Africa , Corporate governance South Africa , Risk management , Operational risk , Business ethics , Bank management South Africa , Banks and banking South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/419151 , vital:71620
- Description: This study analysed the factors that contributed to the failure of Venda Building Society Mutual Bank (VBS) and African Bank Limited and the impact it had on their key stakeholders. The specific objectives of this study were to evaluate African Bank and VBS bank's operational risk management processes and controls, the role of ethical failures at VBS bank and African Bank; and assess how the failures affected their stakeholders. The population sample of the study included African Bank and VBS. The study adopted a qualitative research method. Existing reports from both African Bank and VBS were used to collect data. The study adopted a thematic data analysis method, which includes data coding and the development of themes. The data analysis framework was derived from a defined set of research propositions and seven (7) themes were derived from this analysis method. The failure in operational controls of both banks and ineffective risk management structures including unethical conduct by the executive management and board of VBS bank, irregular financial transactions and weakened external auditing function resulted in an unaccountable executive relationship and reckless lending decision-making. This research study will expand on the existing body of knowledge on the failures and near-failures of banks in the South African banking sector. The South African banking industry and its regulatory bodies will be better equipped to strengthen their corporate governance in risk controls to mitigate future collapses and near collapses of banks. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2023
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- Date Issued: 2023-02
The 2019 SASBO Bank Workers’ Strike in South Africa: unpacking labour responses to the Fourth Industrial Revolution
- Authors: Moyo, Wisdom Ntandoyenkosi
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Industry 4.0 , Fourth Industrial Revolution , Banks and banking South Africa , SASBO , Labor unions South Africa , Strikes and lockouts Bank employees South Africa , Working class South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406774 , vital:70306
- Description: The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is a global phenomenon, affecting workers and trade unions worldwide with the increased automation, including digitisation, of work. Although the 4IR has often been presented as an impersonal technological force that society must just accept, it is in fact rooted in the evolution of capitalist society: it is the latest in a series of industrial revolutions and restructurings of the labour process. These are systemic occurrences, based in class struggles around the extension of management control of every part of work, and replacing workers with machinery; it must then be seen in the context of a history of Taylorism, Fordism and neo-Fordism, and their local expressions, such as racial Fordism in South Africa. The roll-out and the socio-economic effects of the 4IR are therefore shaped by inequality and power, and look to be dire for the working-class in a South Africa that already has record unemployment rates. In the local banking sector, the 4IR has been associated with a wave of retrenchments and branch closures. Faced with this situation, the South African Society of Bank Officials (SASBO), the biggest and oldest union in the finance sector, then with around 73 000 members, tried to hold a mass strike in late 2019. Blocked by the Labour Court, this would have been the union’s biggest strike in a century. It followed from a longer campaign by SASBO to halt job losses, ensure redeployment and reskilling for affected bank workers, and win an agreement for these aims with the banks. The union undertook research on the 4IR and sought to win support from banks, as well as government departments and other unions, for an alternative, worker-friendly roll-out of the 4IR. The decision to strike took place after extensive engagements with banks and stakeholders like government failed, the banks proceeding with retrenchments: the union faced an unprecedented challenge and was on the defensive. This dissertation maps SASBO’s campaign around the 4IR, using the Power Resources Approach (PRA), and assesses its approach. It also tries to show how an analysis of a moderate, older white-collar union like SASBO enriches South African labour studies. A qualitative methodology was used in this research to understand the issue at hand, using documents and semi-structured interviews with SASBO National Executive Committee members. The key findings are that the 4IR will not spare white-collar jobs and presents an unprecedented challenge to unions. There is an urgent need for union revitalisation, including new ways to organise effective responses to technological change. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
An investigation into stakeholder inclusivity and the board’s ability to create competitive advantage at South Africa’s “big five” retail banks
- Authors: Wolhuter, Darren Wilfred
- Date: 2022-04-06
- Subjects: Stakeholder management South Africa , Strategic planning South Africa , Banks and banking South Africa , Corporate governance South Africa , Competition , Resource-based theory
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/284548 , vital:56073
- Description: Stakeholder theory has long put forth the concept that managerial attention must be given to all stakeholders towards the realisation of value creation opportunities. Through the process of stakeholder engagement, and through the adoption of stakeholder inclusivity principles, an organisation can position itself to reap the benefits of understanding the legitimate needs and interests of all its stakeholders by seeking to satisfy all its stakeholders in turn. This study analysed the integrated reports of five retail banks, whose main base of operations were in South Africa, to assess the board’s ability to create value for its stakeholders through adopting a stakeholder inclusive approach to corporate governance as advocated for by the King Code on Corporate Governance in South Africa – King IV™. This assessment was done through an examination of a selection of outcomes relevant to the banking industry and related to each of the six capitals that form part of the value creation process as indicated for in the Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRC, 2013): 1) Financial Capital, 2) Manufactured Capital; 3) Intellectual Capital; 4) Human Capital; 5) Social and Relationship Capital, and; 6) Natural Capital. The results obtained, over a three-year period – 2018 to 2020, revealed that while the directors had a firm understanding of who their material stakeholders were, they struggled to create value that catered to all their stakeholders collectively. In addition, the directors were also unable to create sustainable value over the assessment period. As a result of this, most banks, with the exception of one, were unable to realise the value creation opportunities that could have led to a potential source of competitive advantage. The study concludes that while no observable sustainable competitive advantage was evident over the period of assessment, the concept of stakeholder inclusivity is an important corporate governance principle that drives value creation and, as such, warrants more attention from the director’s point of view. This research is intended to contribute to the growing knowledge on the importance of stakeholder inclusivity in corporate governance execution. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-04-06
The relationship between business model description and financial performance of selected South African banks
- Authors: Mothabine, Thabe
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Banks and banking South Africa , Business planning South Africa , Organizational effectiveness South Africa , Banks and banking Econometric models , Rate of return South Africa , International Integrated Reporting Council , CAMELS (Capital adequacy, Asset quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity, and Sensitivity) Rating System model
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191876 , vital:45174
- Description:
The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between South Africa’s top seven bank’s business model description and their financial performance. Research has highlighted that there is a relationship between business models and performance, however, a limited amount of studies have provided empirical evidence to this effect. The study followed a deductive approach by firstly assessing and analysing the components of the banks business model according to the IIRC’s International
Framework, and then comparing the components focus of each bank for every year of this study; followed by an assessment, analyses and evaluation of each banks financial performance using the CAMELS Rating System model. Once these analyses were done for both business model description and financial performance, the study attempted to assess if the banks with the richest business model description yielded the best financial performance. The findings revealed that the banks with the richest business model description were not necessarily the best performing banks, in actual fact, these banks had low ratings for their performance, and the banks with the lowest rating for their business model description had the highest financial performance rating. However, other factors contributed to these ratings, such as some banks had low ratings for their business model description due to their business models not following the Framework. Conversely, for a more detailed and an in depth analysis and to distinguish whether there is a relationship between business model description and financial performance, the study applied correlation coefficient by using the business model description scores and financial performance components scores for each bank for the three years. The results revealed that there was a strong positive correlation between 2017 and 2018, and a weak positive correlation in 2019. This meant that indeed there was a relationship between the business model description and the bank’s financial performance. While the limitations of this study have been acknowledged, the study has contributed to the knowledge of understanding the relationship between business models and financial performance in a South African context. However, further research could be conducted on more banks in order to deduct a broader view on the relationship between business model description and financial performance of South African banks. Moreover, it would be of greater significance to conduct the various analyses over a longer period of time, because with a broader scope of data, for a longer period, more conclusive findings could be possible. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2021 - Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Working inside Bank 4.0: analysing the impact of the 4IR on the organization of work in the banking sector of South Africa
- Authors: Moshime, Kabelo Katlego
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Industry 4.0 South Africa , Banks and banking South Africa , Banks and banking Technological innovations South Africa , Organizational change South Africa , Bank employees South Africa , Job security , Labour process theory
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192386 , vital:45221
- Description: The main objective of the study is to analyse the impact of the 4IR on the organization of work processes in the banking sector of Pretoria, South Africa. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is an extension of the digital revolution based on the interconnectedness of machinery and cyber- physical systems that intelligently produce and control production. The South African banking sector has not been immune to the changes brought on by the 4IR in other sectors, as many financial institutions in the country have digitized the bulk of their services, in order to make banking quicker and more efficient. Additionally, the latest COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the emergence of digital solutions and e-commerce across different sectors worldwide, thus showing that 4IR is here to stay. On the surface, the adoption of various technological innovations within the banking sector seems like a logical step towards building a more efficient banking system, with minimal deficiencies and upskilling opportunities for banking employees, thus providing an improved and convenient banking experience for customers. On the other side, however, one can see general trends that may not be in the best interest for people employed within the banking sector. For example: the introduction of new technologies has reduced the number of employees in banks; the skills upgrade that some bankers have experienced as a result of new technologies, have come at the cost of the many job losses in the sector; also, the control methods in the banks have become more centralised, thus ensuring extreme monitoring of staff. Additionally, new technologies have eliminated the spaces for deficiencies, and have given consumers a greater role in their banking experiences, instead of being assisted from a-z in their local branches. In light of these changes, one has to question the real impact of these changes on the people that have chosen banking as a career, as ‘machines’ have taken over their banking institutions. Using the Labour Process Theory (LPT), this study examined the impact of the 4IR processes on the organization of work and the general employment experiences of employees in the banking sector of Tshwane, in the Gauteng province, of South Africa. This study found the following outcomes: technologies facilitate greater monitoring of the workplace, enable flexible specialisation for workers, reduces foot-flow in bank branches, and shifts the bankers’ work into the hands of the customers. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2021
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- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
The impact of the BBB-EE policy instrument on wealth inequality : A case study on the banking sector of South Africa
- Authors: Moshikaro, Kei Kgaogelo Felia
- Date: 2021-10
- Subjects: Black Economic Empowerment (Program : South Africa) , Income distribution South Africa , South Africa Economic policy , South Africa Economic conditions 1991- , Banks and banking South Africa , South Africa. Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191035 , vital:45052
- Description: It has been recognised that, whether measured in terms of income or wealth, South Africa remains as one of the most unequal societies in the world. Reducing these high levels of inequalities has been an important area of focus through the formulation of policy instruments by South African policy makers. Within a specific focus on the South African banking sector, the objective of this research is to ascertaining the extent to which addressing inequalities was in fact achieved through the changing of wealth ownerships under the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment policy instrument. To contextualise, the thesis surveys literature on two stylised economic hypotheses on both income and wealth to understand the potential causes of their respective inequalities. An exploration of both income, wealth measurements and their distributions in South Africa are presented, in addition to policy instruments designed to ameliorate income and wealth inequalities in South Africa. The thesis further presents brief case studies from the literature on Brazil’s success in reducing its high income inequality and the Malaysian National Economic Policy empowerment program to effect wealth economic transformation, as comparatives to the South African experience. The thesis findings indicate that contrary to the objectives of the BBB-EE instrument and wealth transfers, the program within the banking sector resulted in highly unequal wealth shares and equally high concentration levels. The richest top one per cent of individuals participating in the BEE transactions in the banking sector captured 79 per cent of the total wealth transfers, this providing indications of extremely high concentrations of wealth. Further, wealth meaningfully cumulates at only the 50 percentage level of the wealth distribution, this additionally suggesting that wealth transfers featured less in the bottom half of the wealth distribution. The banking BBB-EE wealth Gini coefficient of 0.88 is evidence of the extremely high levels of inequality that resulted from the BBB-EE program within the banking sector. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Commerce, Economics and Economic History, 2021
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- Date Issued: 2021-10