African Bank securities remain suspended

Johannesburg - All debt securities of African Bank and equity securities of African Bank Investments remain suspended, the bank's curator Tom Winterboer of PwC announced on Thursday.

In a cautionary announcement on the JSE's news service SENS, Winterboer advised investors to continue to exercise caution when dealing in the debt securities of the bank and the equity securities of Abil until further detailed announcements are made.

Trading in shares of African Bank Investments [JSE:ABL] was suspended after Gill Marcus, former SA Reserve Bank governor, placed the bank under curatorship on August 10 2014. The decision followed a free-fall in the share price after the unsecured lender roiled from a series of bad events.

Investors starting dumping the stock after Abil warned on August 6 that it would suffer a massive R6.4bn annual loss. Its CEO Leon Kirkinis on the same day announced that he would step down after more than 20 years with the struggling mass-market lender.

Fuel to the fire was an announcement on August 7 that the company needed to raise R8.5bn in new capital to plug the hole. The investor sell-off was exacerbated by the news that its furniture retail business Ellerine had applied for creditor protection.

Winterboer said on Thursday the curatorship of the bank and the restructuring initiatives in respect of Abil, as announced by Marcus August 10 2014 remain ongoing.