R155 million farewell for former Capitec CEO – BusinessTech

Former Capitec Group CEO Gerrie Fourie scored a R155 million payday in the 2026 financial year, having turned the group into the nation’s most valuable bank.

In July 2025, Fourie retired as Capitec’s CEO after a demanding 10-year tenure. After his retirement, Fourie stayed on at Capitec in a non-executive capacity.

Fourie was succeeded by Graham Lee, who was the CEO of Capitec’s core Personal Banking business.

“His leadership marked one of our history’s most significant growth periods, from a disruptive newcomer to South Africa’s leading financial service,” said Capitec.

Fourie, one of the early founders of the bank at the start of the century, played a crucial role in turning it into the nation’s largest bank, with over 26 million clients.

Fourie became CEO of Capitec Bank in 2013, when the bank had 5 million clients. He said his goal was not only to grow the business but also to prioritise clients and address their needs.

“That client-first focus powered many of our bold moves during his tenure, from launching the banking app to rolling out Capitec Pay,” said the bank.

During Fourie’s time as Capitec CEO, the bank acquired Mercantile, launched Capitec Business and Capitec Insurance, and expanded its global footprint through the AvaFin acquisition.

The vast majority of Fourie’s farewell figure was influenced by Capitec’s long-term incentive plan.

He received nearly R146 million from the vesting of these incentives. This amount comprised 23,681 share options and 23,681 Share Appreciation Rights (SARs).

These were successfully vested due to Capitec fully meeting its performance targets and achieving significant share price growth of 159% during this period.

For the portion of the year he worked before his retirement on July 18, 2025, Fourie’s total guaranteed pay (TGP) amounted to R8,539,000.

This included a cash salary and provident fund contribution of R7,497,000, along with R1,042,000 in additional benefits.

Since Fourie retired partway through the year, he was considered ineligible to receive any short-term incentive (STI) cash bonus for the 2026 financial year.

Capitec’s financial results

Capitec has reported a significant increase in headline earnings per share, with the bank projecting further growth. 

For the financial year ending on February 28, 2026, headline earnings rose by 23% to R16.8 billion, compared to R13.7 billion in FY 2025.

Additionally, the company increased its dividend per share by 23%, growing to 7,980 cents.

“That is several years of compounding momentum – a trajectory very few can match. We are not a growth story that has peaked. We are still building,” the group said.

Its net interest income rose by 19% to R24.1 billion (R20.2 billion in 2025). Interest income on lending grew by 14%.

Interest income experienced significant growth, driven by a 27% increase in loan disbursements for Personal Banking and a remarkable 48% increase for Business Banking.

The group noted that targeted offers, informed by data analytics, played a key role in boosting lending in Personal Banking, while growth in Business Banking was fuelled by scored lending.

Additionally, interest income from investments rose by 2% to R9.2 billion, attributed to a 7% growth in the average cash and investment portfolio.

However, the decline in the repo rate from 7.5% to 6.75% affected investment yields, as did a shift towards floating-rate instruments.

Despite a 5% increase in deposits and wholesale funding, the group’s interest expenses fell by 8% to R9.2 billion on the back of the reduced repo rate and the restructuring of savings accounts.

Overall, the group’s total loan disbursements grew by 34% to R98.3 billion.

However, the net credit impairment charge on loans and advances increased by 21%, reflecting a 14% growth in the loan book and a rise in the credit loss ratio from 7.5% to 8.1%.

Increases in credit loss ratios were observed across all sectors: Business Banking rose to 2.4%, Personal Banking increased to 8.2%, and AvaFin saw a significant jump to 53.2%.