Description
South Africa’s banking miracle and greatest post-apartheid success story was built on lies. The Stellenbosch elite thought their secrets were buried forever. They were wrong.
In the high-stakes world of finance, where every number hides a story, Boland Bankers Behaving Badly unravels the tangled saga behind Capitec’s meteoric rise – a tale of ambition, audacity, and the cost of cutting corners.
It all began in 1994 when Christo Wiese introduced Michiel Le Roux to the world of banking, setting in motion the so-called ‘dream team’ whose reckless mismanagement would drive Boland Bank into collapse. Led by executives with no banking pedigree, Boland’s downfall was marked by toxic loan books, unauthorised bonuses, and accounting practices that raised more questions than answers – starting from the very first results under Financial Director André Ben le Grange.
You don’t build a banking empire overnight without breaking a few rules. The first red flag should have been the doctored maiden results, but the market failed to notice. Even, when Viceroy Research (see note * below) unleashed a damning report calling Capitec “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,” the market shrugged. Capitec’s executives thrived – not because of strategic brilliance, but because luck refused to notice their blunders. But the ‘grey-zone’ accounting shenanigans are in the numbers, which don’t lie — even when the bankers do.
Author Jaegur Martin has assembled the smoking guns that they thought were destroyed. As Michiel le Roux and his cronies count their wealth, one question burns: Will they bail out before the bank needs a bailout?
The banking elite are counting on ignorant silence. Read the book they never wanted written and expose their lies.
Drawing on years of meticulous research and an admittedly unhealthy obsession, Jaegur Craig Martin exposes deception, exploitation, extortion and often ignored risks. For anyone interested and invested in South Africa’s financial future, Boland Bankers Behaving Badly is a gripping, urgent read that pulls no punches and leaves no stone unturned.
*On 30th January 2018, just weeks after publishing an exposé on South Africa’s largest corporate fraud, Viceroy Research unleashed a storm with its damning report on Capitec Bank, aptly titled ‘A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.’ The impact was initially devastating, but the chaos was short-lived as the Reserve Bank Governor stepped in, and the market was reassured. However, there was substance to some of Viceroy Research’s allegations, which until now, had not been clearly linked to ‘grey zone’ accounting practices.
About the Author: A reformed financial analyst who traded suit-and-tie for tie-dye and financial statements for profound statements. Jaegur untangles complex financial webs to present them with a wit as dry as an auditor’s report, but infinitely more interesting. Having spoken to audiences as large as 8,000 (and survived), he’s graced radio waves, TV screens, and podcast feeds with equal parts insight and irreverence. With over 400 published articles dissecting the twisted tango between money, markets, and misbehavior, he’s mastered the art of making finance both digestible and flavourful. Lindsay Williams once introduced him as “the Barefoot Contrarian” – the name stuck.
