Pityana's fight exposes Reserve Bank's lawlessness

The central bank's Prudent Authority broke the law, says court

- SIZWE DLAMINI

A DAMNING Pretoria High Court ruling has exposed the SA Reserve Bank's (SARB's) Prudential Authority (PA) for unlawfully blocking business leader Sipho Pityana's appointment as chairperson of the Absa board in 2021 - raising serious questions about the banking regulator's abuse of power, lack of accountability, and disregard for the rule of law.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Tribune's sister title the Sunday Independent, Pityana - now fully vindicated by the courts - pulled no punches in his condemnation of the SARB's conduct, accusing it of acting as a rogue institution that places itself above the law.

His case has set a legal precedent that might have sent shockwaves through the financial sector: banks and their regulators cannot operate outside the law, and boards must resist unlawful pressure from those meant to oversee them.

"What was the basis for their objection? They never said I was unfit," Pityana said candidly.

"The Reserve Bank first indicated they had issues with my nomination by suggesting I may not be a 'fit and proper person' without ever formally asserting that I was implicated in harassment or any misconduct," Pityana said.

"In fact, in all the court papers, they stated that they never asserted I was unfit or unqualified. They never actually said I wasn't a fit and proper person."

"These assertions don't align with their mandated position that they can only object to a nomination if they believe someone is not a fit and proper person," Pityana pointed out. "So again, what was the actual basis of their objection?" The court found that there was none.

The PA acted without legal justification, relying instead on informal, "back-room processes" to strong-arm the Absa Board into rejecting Pityana.

An Absa succession committee had tipped Pityana as the preferred candidate to replace the outgoing Absa chair, Wendy Lucas Bull, who was due to leave the bank in March 2022.