The men who built South Africa’s most valuable bank

Founded in 1998, FirstRand Limited, the parent company of First National Bank (FNB), has seen immense growth since it was first listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in May of that same year.

Its share price has grown by nearly 775%, and its market cap has grown to R426 billion, making it the most valuable bank in the country.

It has grown to become a South African banking giant, holding one of the country’s largest retail banks, FNB, and one of its largest investment banks, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB).

It also owns vehicle and asset financing firm WesBank, asset manager Ashburton, and UK specialist bank Aldermore.

According to the company, much of its success has come from its owner-management philosophy, introduced by founders Paul Harris, Lauritz “Laurie” Dippenaar, and Gerrit “GT” Ferreira.

Although Harris could be considered the father of FirstRand and, by extension, the grandfather of FNB, he wasn’t part of the team from the beginning.

In 1997, Dippenaar, Ferreira and Pat Goss left their banking jobs to set up FirstRand’s predecessor, Rand Consolidated Investments, starting with $10,000 and a secretary.

However, Harris had worked with Dippenaar at the Industrial Development Corporation in the past and was called upon when Goss left the company.

A few years after Harris joined, South African billionaire Johann Rupert proposed a merger between Rand Consolidated Investing and RMB.

This, critically, gave Dippenaar, Ferreira, and Harris access to a banking licence, and Rupert left the three entrepreneurs to run the bank.

Harris himself is considered one of South Africa’s great entrepreneurs.

After co-founding Rand Consolidated Investments, he became its chief executive officer in 1992. After establishing FirstRand, he served as CEO of FirstRand Bank Holdings from 1999 to 2005.

He later became the CEO of FirstRand.

Harris grew up on his family’s farm in Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal, and left home at the age of eight to attend Pietermaritzburg’s Maritzburg College.

Thereafter, he attended Stellenbosch University, where he initially pursued sports with a bursary for cricket and rugby. However, he later studied commerce and earned a Master’s degree.

An interesting fact about Harris’s studies is that he joined the University in 1974, speaking only English, and left fluent in Afrikaans.

Outside of his education and business career, Harris enjoys watching sports, viewing art and wildlife, and playing golf.

Dippenaar grew up in Pretoria and attended Hoërskool Menlo Park. Despite growing up in a family of four doctors, he knew working at the coalface of healthcare wasn’t for him.

After high school, he attended the University of South Africa, where he studied for a Master of Commerce degree.

He later qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and spent three years working at the Industrial Development Corporation before leaving to co-found Rand Consolidated Investments.

Dippenaar served as executive chairman of RMB from 1992 until FirstRand launched in 1998. He was appointed the first CEO of FirstRand before being selected as chairman for a non-executive role in 2008.

The businessman now sponsors the Laurie Dippenaar Postgraduate Scholarship for International Study.

The scholarship is available to South African citizens and is awarded annually for studying a postgraduate degree outside the country in any discipline at an internationally recognised university of a student’s choice.

The scholarship is worth $37,000 (R350,000) per year for a maximum of two years.

Ferreira is a well-known South African businessman, banker, and investor. He was born and raised in Pretoria before attending the University of Stellenbosch, where he received his MBA.

After co-founding Rand Consolidated Investments, he served as the managing director of RMB Holdings between 1985 and 1988.

He also held the position of non-executive chairman at FirstRand from 1998 to 2008.

He has been involved in various other business ventures, including the Tokara winery and restaurant in the Western Cape.

According to a thesis by Christel Fourie, entitled The FirstRand Founders’ Story: Exploring Synergistic Relationships and published by the University of Johannesburg, Ferreira isn’t too concerned about a return on equity through his wine business.

Instead, he describes it as a “return on ego”.

As of November 2015, Forbes rated Ferreira as one being among Africa’s 50 richest people in terms of net worth. It estimated Ferreira’s net worth at $420 million (then around R5.8 billion).

The majority of his wealth comes from his shares in RMI Holdings and RMB Holdings.