| Laubscher: “banks cannot stand alone” | ||||||
Simmonds Street, Johannesburg, is the site of Standard Bank’s sprawling headquarters, a biosphere full of bankers, high flyers, secretaries and their hairdressers. But this self-contained world, insulated from the day-to-day ravages of a restless city, came under siege last year. The invader, in the form of Nedcor – its smaller rival – was camped outside the gates for nine months.
As visitors approached the Stanbic complex a banner urged: “Hoot to give the Neds the boot!” Posters on the walls angrily demanded “Is this by Mutual consent?” (A reference to Old Mutual, the South African life assurer, which has a controlling stake in Nedcor and 22% of Stanbic, and saw their merger as a convenient exit.
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