Cobus Loots, CEO of Pan African Resources, on delivering sector-leading returns for shareholders. Watch the video here.
At risk of being called out for stating the bl**ding obvious, this company is very much in the last chance saloon if it is to turn things around. My personal view is that it is there is at least an equal chance of it being bought and "stripped out".
The next few months are vitally important for the new CEO and of course the share price. What ever the future is, there will need to be a bloodbath with large scale redundancies (all done on statutory minimum terms). Although some say that AI will be more cosmetic, i think that at the very least it will be used to deliver new wins at the very lowest costs possible.
I sense that people are bored and need something to interest them whilst we wait.
The link below will take you to an interesting article ( well i think it is) about the rise of the Neobank and the challenges that the new disruptors face in establishing their businesses.
https://www.worldfinance.com/banking/the-unstoppable-rise-of-neobanks
I have wondered for some time if this deal has been the key to getting FCA approval, and that now we have it the log jam will clear ?
Let's hope so.
Lets hope that the BOD want to be Billionaires and not "just" multi millionaires. In which case there are going to be many, many millionaire shareholders - a lot of whom are on this site.
To help while away the hours, days, weeks, months etc till we have some news, i have been looking at various you tube videos about Crypto / Digital Currency and came across this from the DW news channel:
Crypto Currency - The Future of Money ?
It provides a timely and fascinating insight into how Crypto / Digital currency is now becoming woven into the fabric of every day financial life and how the mainstream financial establishment is dealing with it.
There are a lot of takeaways from this documentary, but a few things stood out for me ;
1. The central banks - such as the ECB - hate the idea of it, as it takes control away from them (and they see crypto as a bubble) , but they understand that they have no choice to accept it and try to control it by regulating it.
2. The big banks across the world recognise the changing landscape and are busy rolling out their own digital currency business models.
3. The biggest opportunity for growth is in the commercial sector which is largely untapped when compared to personal transactions.
4. Crypto is becoming the currency of choice for those in poorer nations who do not have access to a bank account.
The documentary supported my belief that GST will be brought sooner rather than later (albeit at a premium price), as the big boys will need / want to apply a stranglehold on the Digital Currency space, or risk losing control of it - they are simply not going to let that happen.
I suspect that none of the above will come as a surprise to those of us who have been doing their research.
The video can be found using the following link : https://youtu.be/QTyzyP2Afys?si=-CeZ6IAZfLbPq0O8
I hope this helps some to take their mind off the wait for news.
There has been a lot of chat about the FCA investigation into car finance and for those who think that this is a “black and white” issue and that it’s up to the customer to shop around , or for the dealer to reveal the incentives that they received from the Bank, I thought I would share something that happened to me some years back, which highlights just how the FCA thinks about such issues.
I purchased an endowment policy from a Building Society (call it “B”). I knew full well what the drawbacks to these products were and I purchased with my eyes wide open and I was satisfied with the transaction that I willingly entered into. I did not subsequently make a complaint of any sort.
A few years later i received a letter from another Building Society (call it “A”) who had bought out “B” and was now responsible for “B’s” book of business. The FCA had concerns about the way that “B” had previously dealt with complaints of mis-selling endowments and ordered “A” to conduct a review of “B”’s complaint handling process. The upshot was that even though I had not complained I received compensation (£6500), because IF I had complained the complaints process in place at the time was deemed to be inadequate and would have failed to properly address them.
Be warned, LLOYDS is on the hook for this and it’s going to cost. That said I remain a long-term holder and agree with the school of thought that this share is underpriced and will ride out the storm of the FCA investigation.
Https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-decoupling-manifesto-mapping-the-next-phase-of-the-crypto-journey
This looks at the future of crypto, and convinces me that we are in the right place at the right time.
Part 2
Market Resources – Traditionally, incumbents have major resources (both within their workforce and budgets), regulatory credentials and most importantly, loyalty from their customers in an industry where trust is extremely important.
Offerings – Incumbent banks have built their product and service offerings over many years, and while they may not be engaging or flexible, they still are available from a single bank provider – unlike neobanks who do not have this luxury.
Re-Engineering – Several neobanks have been burned by moving too fast because their platforms were not scalable, robust or flexible. Money and time have to be spent re-engineering these solutions to expand product and service offerings, improve reliability and enter new markets.
What traditional firms are demonstrating is that scale matters. The breadth of product offerings is important to consumers. If convenience is your main selling point, forcing a customer to go elsewhere for products that you don’t offer is a major impediment. Brand and reliability are also important—and we’ve seen what traditional banks have faced with recent platform outages or security breaches.
By focusing on innovation, speed and differentiation, neobanks can offer experience-based value and address customers’ existing pain points, completely differentiating their current offering. Their core banking systems are built around a network of microservices and form an agile working model that can implement new features and changes with a shorter lead time. While neobanks cannot expect to enter the market at a high profitability rate, they must plan to monetize beyond the current offering, and their agile workforce must transform into an environment for constant innovation.
In Asian markets, we’ve already seen that non-traditional banking services are attractive to consumers—social media platforms are proving that there are many financial transactions that can take place outside of a bank or even a banking app. Neobanks that are still maturing in the current market need to broaden their product offering as quickly as possible while also maintaining quality, reliability and trust. While neobanks will continue to fight to gain significant market share to become self-sustaining, there is still a huge opportunity to change the very future of banking.
Fueled by open banking, AI and the emergence of API-enabled architectures, neobanks have the tools and motivation to focus sharply on the actual needs of customer and provide a better digital experience; one where banking becomes invisible, enriched and embedded into customers’ everyday lives.
This a blog from EPAM ( a specialist software company that works with market disruptors). Interesting reading :
Part 1
The new wave of neobanks entering the market has challenged every part of the traditional banking model, increasing competition to gain market share and exceed customer expectations. But how are neobanks disrupting traditional financial service firms?
Neobanks typically focus on a narrow use case or product. They identify gaps, problems or pain points within existing offerings and engineer more complex services to attract clients by improving that service.
Their focus and ability to provide more innovative services quickly and conveniently—at a lower rate with a better user experience—has reinvented the processes and practices of traditional banking models.
The need for neobanks in today’s market arises from society’s growing expectations for stronger, more seamless digital journeys regardless of device, location or consumer needs. The inflexible nature of traditional banking services—deriving from unsatisfactory digital and in-person experiences, barriers to completing transactions and the disconnect between services inside business units—is a significant pain point for customers.
The limitations of traditional banking models have created a gap in the market, allowing challenger banks to capitalize on the negative perception of the industry. They need to offer a positive service that makes it easier for customers to interact with and consume services, while also offering a more cost-effective and convenient service in order to attract customers. To do this well, neobanks need to address several challenges both internally and externally:
Internal Challenges
Scale – A lack of funding and initial resources can be a considerable limitation for many neobanks first entering the market, as they face pressure to build scale and attract customers faster than competitors.
Customer Acquisition – While consumers are looking for better experiences, they may initially be hesitant to move their entire banking relationships to a new, “untested” challenger bank, making it difficult for neobanks to grow quickly without an existing large customer base.
New Models – Since every offering is built from scratch, it will take significant time and resources to establish a broad product and service portfolio, hindering the speed of expansion within the company.
Regulations – While neobanks are keen to move quickly and be disruptive in the marketplace, they still need to remain compliant with regulations across all jurisdictions.