AI Talent Cyber Risk and Banking Fee Pressure

Capitec will go international – but not yet

Capitec will follow its big South African competitors by going international – but not quite yet, says Group CEO Graham Lee. The bank now has 26 million customers, a share price that rose by 30 per cent this year, and more room to grow in South Africa. Business Tech reports that the business is growing strongly under Lee, who replaced former CEO Gerrie Fourie last year, with headline earnings grew by 23% to R16.8 billion, and the bank delivered a return on equity of 31 per cent. The bank released its results to February 2026 last week. “The group’s net interest income also increased by 19% to R24.1 billion (FY2025: R20.2 billion), while interest income on lending grew by 14%,” writes Business Tech, noting this rise was driven by 27% and 48% increases in loan disbursements for Personal Banking and Business Banking, respectively. “The group said that targeted offers informed by data analytics drove Personal Banking lending, while scored lending drove growth in Business Banking.” Lee told Business Tech that the new team was looking beyond emerging markets for opportunities to launch Capitec internationally.

Capitec has moved to supplement its lending income with a variety of services including insurance and data, with fintech, virtual mobile operation Capitec Connect and Value Added Services delivering 26 per cent of headline earnings. Insurance contributed 27 per cent. As Daily Maverick noted, “Capitec has introduced so many clever ways to make money that the business is now structurally different to legacy banks in SA.” Lee said that the group was working on media and data services, which will be “designed to help its business banking clients effectively market to their clients and will improve its existing ecosystem”.

AI and Goverance issues are surfacing – in fintechs and telcos

There’s lots of talk and speculation these days about AI-powered banks, and equally numerous questions about the role of people in these banks. Fintechs and telcos may be doing banks a service by getting it wrong before banks get it wrong. “A Nairobi resident has filed a case at the High Court of Kenya accusing Safaricom PLC of over-relying on artificial intelligence at the expense of human customer support,” reports Sauce.co.ke. “The petitioner, Victor Odhiambo, argues that the telecom giant’s increasing use of AI – particularly its chatbot Zuri – has made it difficult for customers to access human assistance. Odhiambo contends that AI-driven decisions – such as account restrictions or transaction reversals – are often made without adequate explanation, limiting users’ ability to challenge outcomes. He also raises concerns about privacy, alleging extensive data collection and profiling without sufficient safeguards. The petition further faults regulators, including the Communications Authority of Kenya and Competition Authority of Kenya, for what it describes as inadequate oversight as AI adoption expands in essential services.”

Telcos and mobile money operators, with large data operations, have been rapid adaptors of AI and ML services, though they operate with obligations not imposed on – for instance – big tech operators and digital advertisers such as Meta which are investing hundreds of billions in new AI services. The case is seen as a test of how far business can go in offering AI-powered services to customers.

…And also in banking

Australia provides useful insight, and the banking regulator there is far from alone in being concerned about the impact of AI models. “Australia's financial system regulator said on Thursday the country's banks were not keeping pace with AI industry developments, warning frontier AI systems such as Anthropic's Mythos had the potential to lead to larger and faster 

cyber attacks,” reports Reuters. “In a letter to banks, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said most of the industry's information security practices were struggling to match the rate of change in AI. APRA observed many boards are still developing the technical literacy required to provide effective challenge on AI-related risks and oversight. The regulator said while banks already had strict security procedures in place, some were not engineered to keep pace with the development of AI.” As we reported earlier this week, ANZ has just hired its first Chief AI Officer. Many major banks have acquired OpenAI or Claude licences for bankers to help with writing emails or doing research: few are letting AI anywhere near decision making processes.

As venture capital pours into AI, Anthropic, Open AI and others are offering huge salaries for AI talent. Big banks are also in the competition. “ANZ has hired its first chief data and AI officer, as competition over artificial intelligence talent intensifies among big banks around the world,” reports Bloomberg. “Kai Yang will join ANZ in Sydney in July after relocating from Hong Kong where he worked as HSBC’s chief data and analytics officer for Asia and the Middle East. Yang is the latest senior hire from HSBC, where ANZ Chief Executive Officer Nuno Matos worked prior to joining the Melbourne-based bank last year. Big banks globally are rushing to bolster their tech ranks as they look to incorporate AI across numerous areas from loan underwriting to trading and marketing. Yang’s move comes amid fierce competition for top talent and follows last year’s move by Westpac to Andrew McMullan as chief data, digital and AI officer from CBA.”

In an addendum to the story, Bloomberg reports that chief executive Nuno Matos – who was brought into to improve the bank’s culture – updated staff on the bank’s values this week: “We must no longer accept a good news culture where problems are not raised early,” Matos wrote. In putting customers first, he added “we need to keep things clear and simple and act early – and with urgency – if something could cause harm.”

Does Thailand’s Central Bank have lessons for others on digitalisation and fees?

Thailand may have a lesson for banks around the world banking on higher fee income to offset lower net interest margins. “The country's six domestic systemically important banks reported combined fee and service income of 62 billion baht in the first quarter of 2026, up 12.6% year-on-year,” reports The Bangkok Post. “The growth was led by Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya) at 20.6%, followed by TMBThanachart Bank (ttb) at 18.8%, Kasikornbank (KBank) and SCB X at 17.7% each, and Krungthai Bank at 11%. Bangkok Bank recorded a 4.3% decline in fee income.” But the country’s central bank, observing developments in digitalisation, is working to standardise banking fees across the industry. “In the initial phase of the new framework, it expects the standardised structure to cover 10-15 fee items, particularly retail transactions such as interprovincial transfers, card-related fees, and certain charges for small and medium-sized enterprises. The initiative aims to address inconsistent and potentially unfair pricing, while reflecting lower operating costs driven by digitalisation. Kattiya Indaravijaya, chief executive of KBank, said the bank expects to manage its fee-based income appropriately under the Bank of Thailand's fee standardisation policy. ‘The fee standardisation will trim margins, but the impact is expected to be manageable. We will continue to reduce operating costs and expand digital banking services,’ she said.” What other central banks will follow suit?