Capitec Bank came out fighting on Wednesday taking aim at New York Research House, Viceroy, while thanking its clients for their support during a trying week.
In a statement, Capitec CEO, Gerrie Fourie, thanked the bank’s more than 9.5-million clients “for their support this week.”
“Many customers jumped-in to support the bank when it came under attack yesterday (Tuesday) by Viceroy. Capitec clients took to Twitter and Facebook, rallying behind the bank and its values of simplicity and transparency,” he said.
In his statement, Fourie also refuted a number of claims in the report by Viceroy, which he said consisted “of three unknown traders” who released a report with allegations about the bank’s finances without contacting Capitec for input.
He said the South African Reserve Bank has also come out in support of Capitec by saying the bank was “solvent” and “well capitalized and has adequate liquidity”.
“Our banking regulators have a solid track record, in fact, our banking industry is seen as one of the best in the world. Capitec, therefore, operates in a very stable environment with a track record of 17 years of transparency,” said Fourie.
In the detailed statement, Fourie refuted four key allegations in the Viceroy report, denying that Capitec was a “reckless lender” that it “reschedules clients loans to make extra money” and that Capitec was selling multi-loans which is not permitted by the National Credit Regulator.
Fourie assured the bank’s customers that their “money is safe” with the bank and that nothing has changed in the way the bank does business.
“We will continue to be transparent and we remain committed to full disclosure. These accusations do not only hurt Capitec, it also damages our economy,” Fourie said.
