Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Standard Bank’s Chris Hart resigns

1 min read
On Tuesday, the question of collusion was raised in the hearings of FNB’s former chief executive Johan Burger and Absa’s former head of compliance Yasmin Masithela. (Mike Hutchings/Reuters)
On Tuesday, the question of collusion was raised in the hearings of FNB’s former chief executive Johan Burger and Absa’s former head of compliance Yasmin Masithela. (Mike Hutchings/Reuters)

Standard Bank on Monday announced that prominent economist Chris Hart, who earlier this year had been at the centre of a storm around tweets deemed racist, had left the bank.

Standard Bank spokesperson Ross Linstrom confirmed that Hart, “an Investment Strategist at Standard Bank Wealth and Investment has resigned and has left the employ of the bank”.

In early January the bank had suspended Hart, over a controversial tweet which read: “More than 25 years after Apartheid ended, the victims are increasing along with a sense of entitlement and hatred towards minorities…”

The post drew wide criticism on Twitter and Facebook, with users calling on Standard Bank to fire him over the “racist undertones” in his tweet.

Hart later apologised and said his tweet was meant to be read in the context of the slow economic growth.

At the time Standard Bank distanced itself from the comments. – African News Agency (ANA)