South African billionaire Michiel Le Roux’s Capitec Bank reaches 20-million clients milestone

Capitec Bank, a renowned retail bank spearheaded by South African billionaire banker Michiel Le Roux, has reinforced its position as the largest retail bank in South Africa, with an impressive 20 million client milestone.

This milestone, achieved during the bank’s 22nd-anniversary celebrations, was disclosed by Gerrie Fourie, the bank’s CEO and a distinguished business executive in South Africa.

Capitec Bank has firmly established itself as the largest retail bank in South Africa, with an impressive 20 million clients, surpassing the populations of Malawi, Zambia, and the Netherlands.

The bank’s client base has doubled from 5 million in 2013 to 10 million in 2019, and remarkably, from 10 million to 20 million in just the last four years.

Notably, Capitec boasts more than 1.3 million active credit clients, 2,200 home loan clients, and 2.2 million funeral cover clients. Its client base now amounts to almost 35 percent of South Africa’s population of 59.39 million people.

Capitec Bank is a leading South African bank with one of the largest customer bases in the country. It has grown into one of the most reputable banking brands in the world since its inception 20 years ago, providing transactional banking services and loan products.

Le Roux, a 73-year-old South African business magnate who co-founded Capitec Bank in 1999 with Jannie Mouton and Riaan Stassen, owns 11.41 percent of the Stellenbosch-based financial services provider, which is one of South Africa’s largest retail banks.

Michiel Le Roux’s Capitec Bank set to launch its life insurance business

Capitec Bank has taken another step towards expanding its operations by obtaining approval from the South African Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority to conduct life insurance business in South Africa. This approval enables the bank to offer a broader range of financial services to its clients as it seeks to deepen its presence in the country.

Capitec Bank’s life insurance business will be launched under the name Capitec Life, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the group, in line with the approval received from the Prudential Authority.

The bank’s foray into the life insurance market will involve consolidating its existing operations through two cell captive agreements with licensed cell captive insurers. This strategic move will enable Capitec Bank to enhance its financial offerings and provide clients with a more comprehensive range of services through Capitec Life.