Alan Pullinger hit by $2.2 million losses amid FirstRand share decline

South African banker and multimillionaire executive Alan Pullinger has experienced significant losses of more than $2 million in the past 81 days due to sustained selling pressures in bank shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Pullinger, who serves as the CEO of FirstRand Limited, Africa’s largest financial services group by market capitalization, holds a 0.1-percent stake in the prominent Gauteng-based financial services provider.

The stake equates to 5,634,679 ordinary shares in the leading lender.

Starting from March 9, when FirstRand shares were valued at R68.04 ($3.46) per share, Pullinger’s stake has seen a decline in market value of R44.12 million ($2.24 million).

Profit-booking activities on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange have caused the group’s shares to fall to R60.21 ($3.062).

The 11.5-percent drop in FirstRand’s shares from R68.04 ($3.46) on March 9 to R60.21 ($3.062) at the time of writing has not only led to a decline in the group’s market capitalization to below $18 billion but has also negatively impacted the market value of shareholders’ stakes.

While one of the bank’s co-founders, Laurie Dippenaar has suffered a substantial decline of more than $35 million in his stake in FirstRand since March 9, Pullinger’s stake in the group has also experienced a decrease in market value.

Pullinger’s stake, which was valued at R383.38 million ($19.49 million) on March 9, has now slumped to R339.26 million ($17.25 million) as of the time of drafting this report.

Despite the recent decline in his stake in the South African financial services group, Pullinger remains one of the richest investors on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Throughout the year, his stake in FirstRand has experienced a decline of less than $550,000, dropping from R350.02 million ($17.8 million) on Jan. 1 to R339.26 million ($17.25 million) on May 29 due to a 3 percent year-to-date decline in the bank’s share price.