Dr Mamphela Ramphele has resigned from the board of Standard Bank because of a potential conflict of interest, Business Report reported on Tuesday.
Bank spokesperson Ross Linstrom said Ramphele, who chairs black-owned investment firm Circle Capital Ventures, had left the bank due to a potential conflict of interest. He could not disclose the exact nature of this conflict.
This is the third resignation of a high-profile black director from a financial institution as a result of potential conflicts since 2002.
In 2004 Cyril Ramaphosa quit as non-executive director of FirstRand after Millennium Consolidated Investments, which he chaired, was invited to participate in a FirstRand black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction. Instead he opted for a deal with Standard Bank.
In 2002 Reuel Khoza resigned from Standard Bank’s board because he was entering into a BEE deal with Nedbank to buy a controlling stake in BOE Asset Management.
According to last year’s Standard Bank annual report, Ramphele sat on the boards of the banking group and its South African unit.
The annual report shows that Ramphele sits on nine other boards, including Anglo American, MTN Group, MediClinic, Business Partners, the Mellon Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and CCV.
The report shows she attended only two of the Standard Bank board’s five meetings last year, Business Report said. – Sapa