South Africa’s largest banks, Firstrand, Nedbank, Barclays Africa and Standard Bank, have over the 12 months ended on June 30, 2016, spent R30 billion ($2.1 billion) in information technologies (IT) and to pay their staff members.

This sum represents 15% of these institutions’ combined operation expenditures. According to an analysis by Hilton Tarrant, who invests in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, these expenditures include not only real financial commitments but amortization and depreciation provisions as well.

In a context where South African banks wish to cut the operating costs of their agencies, observers say the lenders should most likely continue investing in technological infrastructures. At the end of 2011, three of South Africa’s four major banks had overall 3005 agencies. However at the end of 2015, it shrunk to 2895.

Idriss Linge