Iain Williamson will take early retirement and step down as chief executive officer and executive director of Old Mutual at the end of August, the group has announced.
“The board has accepted Mr. Williamson’s request to take early retirement after 32 years with the group, the last five of which he served as CEO, and extends its heartfelt thanks for his remarkable commitment and service to the company, its clients, and the industry,” it said in a statement.
This announcement comes as more details emerge about the financial services firm’s new bank, OM Bank. Notably, the bank will not launch its own network of ATMs. Instead, it plans to form partnerships with retail businesses to offer its services to customers.
This move marks Old Mutual’s return to the banking sector after its exit from Nedbank in 2018, as part of the group’s strategic separation.
OM Bank recently received approval from the South African Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority to appoint Clarence Nethengwe as CEO of the new entity.
The bank will launch with a select group of clients in early 2025, ahead of a broader public rollout later in the year. It will offer a comprehensive range of personal banking solutions, including transactional accounts, savings, and credit products, it said.
Nethengwe highlighted the importance of data analysis in the bank’s growth. “One of the things we will be doing is looking at data in real-time to understand what people are doing with their money, and how they engage with the app. Product development will happen rapidly,” Nethengwe told Business Day.
“Banks, from an interaction perspective, are unmatched,” he said. “Because of the daily interaction with customers, we will generate a lot of data that will inform us on trends and consumer behaviour.”
OM Bank plans to follow a similar strategy by embracing a digital-only model, offering affordable banking solutions. It will not have physical ATMs. Instead, customers can withdraw and deposit cash at retail outlets and use ATMs from other banks. “Customers will also be able to use their virtual cards to withdraw cash at retailers,” said Nethengwe.
He also mentioned that while the bank doesn’t hold licenses for life or short-term insurance, the Old Mutual group does, enabling it to offer a full range of services to customers at a low cost of acquiring clients.
Old Mutual currently reaches over a million customers through its Money Account and has a strong presence in unsecured lending and home loans. Additionally, it serves 3.1 million low-income South Africans through its mass and foundation insurance cluster, allowing it to leverage a broad customer base.
