Strategic Perspectives on South African Financial Services
Original analysis and commentary on the forces shaping banking, fintech, and financial services in South Africa. These articles — originally published on LinkedIn where they consistently reached thousands of senior executives — reflect the kind of thinking A2B Strategy brings to every engagement.
New insights are published regularly. For the latest thinking, follow Brad Beetar on LinkedIn.
Banking (P)review Series — 2026
A six-part series examining the strategic positioning, leadership, and growth prospects of South Africa’s Big 5 banks and the new competitors emerging to challenge them.
- The Legacy Banks Are Dead, Long Live the Legacy Banks: Big 4 Headline Earnings Comparison (CY2025)The legacy Big 4 just missed double digit earnings growth (+9.5%) in calendar 2025 — a strong performance in a stagnant economy with serious competitive pressures. A like-for-like comparison across SA Retail, SA Commercial, Africa R&C and CIB.
- Banking (P)review 6: Capitec’s New CompetitionIt feels like forever that Capitec has been the upstart eating the incumbents’ lunch. That landscape is changing. Retailers, telcos, fintechs, neobanks and insurers are all leaning in.
- Banking (P)review 5: Capitec — Can It Continue Defying Gravity?Capitec has nosed ahead of FirstRand to be ranked Number One by market valuation. But even with rose-tinted spectacles, it remains a challenge to justify that valuation. Here’s why.
- Banking (P)review 4: ABSA — “Red Devils” Reborn?In 2005 the Glazers took over Manchester United, and Barclays acquired ABSA. Both lost their souls. Has a turning point been reached with the arrival of Kenny Fihla?
- Banking (P)review 3: Standard Bank CIB — The Springbok Scrum of African BankingThe best Business Unit in African banking is Standard Bank’s Corporate and Investment Banking division. It is as completely dominant as the South African forward pack.
- Banking (P)review 2: FirstRand — Metamorphosis (sans Kafkaesque Despair)?FirstRand was the first SA bank to crack a R500b valuation. But two non-trivial changes point to an unexpected maturity in leadership that offers both a path to growth and operational stabilization.
A2B Strategy | Strategy Facilitation for Financial Services 