STEPHEN CRANSTON: Paying for Steinhoff a mere gesture
It is a symbolic gesture for Sanlam CEO Ian Kirk to give up R2.5m of his annual bonus. He has already made his money building up Capital Alliance and selling it to Liberty. Frankly, it is hardly news next to Sanlam’s US$1bn takeover of Saham in North Africa. It’s another story for the 100 other people in Sanlam whose bonuses are being cut in recognition of the Steinhoff debacle. It is unusual for a financial services business to inflict pain on itself just because one share goes wrong. But a few of Sanlam’s private clients, including senior Steinhoff executives, had been persuaded to put their Steinhoff shares into collateralised loans, and as the Steinhoff share collapsed, these loans were called in. I am not sure why a life office feels the need to offer these aggressive banking products. It is a historic accident from the days when Sanlam set up Gensec Bank, now called Sanlam Capital Markets. Sanlam Private Wealth has a high market share of private clients in the Stellenbosch are...
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