Stringent controls in Postbank bill

Parliament’s communications committee has introduced stringent controls into the Postbank Amendment Bill to ensure the government’s first venture into individual retail banking does not suffer the corporate governance lapses that have characterised several other state-owned entities.

Committee chairman Ismail Vadi said the committee is aware of the potential for disaster within the bank if things go wrong.

The committee has finalised its deliberations on the bill, which proposes to establish the Postbank as a wholly owned subsidiary of the South African Post Office, with powers to raise funds for its new lending activities.