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Business Report writes that calls to establish a workers’ bank were bolstered last week as trade unions were urged to use their investments to bail out the financially strapped UBank.
The intervention was suggested by the SA Communist Party (SACP) after it emerged that Oakbay Investments, owned by the Gupta family, was making a play to buy the bank, which mainly serves mineworkers. UBank is owned by Teba Trust, which is administered jointly by the Chamber of Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Its trustees are hard-pressed to raise R1 billion to meet capital requirements and for growth. The NUM has made clear its intentions not to sell, especially not to Oakbay, but it must find investors willing to finance the retail bank. There is talk within the union that its multibillion-rand investment company would be approached. But a NUM insider said the idea would have complex consequences in the long run should the NUM lose its status as a majority union in the mining sector. He commented: “Imagine a situation where Amcu is a trustee and the NUM has invested money in the bank.”
- Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at Business Report
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page