Business
Capitec Tops the Charts as Africa’s Most Valuable Bank in 2025
A homegrown success story
South Africa’s banking landscape has just been reshaped. Capitec Bank Holdings, long known as the bank of everyday South Africans, has now officially overtaken FirstRand to claim the title of Africa’s most valuable bank. The shift comes only a month after Graham Lee stepped in as the new chief executive, taking the reins from Gerrie Fourie.
It is a remarkable milestone for a lender that started out in 1997 with a focus on low-income depositors. At the time, many financial institutions had turned their backs on this market. Capitec’s decision to simplify banking and offer unsecured lending helped it build trust in communities that had often felt excluded from the system. That bet has paid off in a way few could have imagined.
Record growth and market confidence
Capitec has delivered record profits for four consecutive years, and its share price reflects that momentum. Since the beginning of 2025, its stock has jumped 16%, while the FTSE/JSE Africa Bank Index rose just 3.6%. FirstRand, once the sector leader, has slipped 1.3%.
Over the longer term, the numbers are even more staggering. Since its listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in February 2002, Capitec’s shares have surged by more than 213,000%. That kind of return has turned the Stellenbosch-born bank into a favourite for investors, proof that a simple model executed well can rival giants with far larger balance sheets.
Today, Capitec serves more than 24.1 million personal and business clients, making it South Africa’s biggest bank by customer numbers.
What makes Capitec different?
Analysts point to a mix of factors: a clear focus on solving real customer problems, agile technology, and a decisive management team. Avior Capital Markets analyst Adrienne Damant describes Capitec’s rise as proof that a trusted brand and consistent delivery can outpace even the largest competitors.
Unlike rivals that historically leaned on corporate clients or global expansion, Capitec rooted itself in the everyday financial needs of South Africans. Its no-frills approach to banking, combined with tech-driven solutions, has created loyalty that continues to translate into growth.
The competition heats up
Despite its success, Capitec is not without challenges. Established players like Nedbank, Absa, Standard Bank, and FirstRand remain formidable. At the same time, new entrants such as OM Bank are eager to capture the very market segment Capitec built its empire on. With Standard Bank still far ahead in terms of total assets at R3.4 trillion compared to Capitec’s R239 billion, the road ahead will test how well Capitec can balance innovation with scale.
A new chapter under Graham Lee
The leadership transition from Gerrie Fourie to Graham Lee marks the beginning of a fresh chapter. Fourie oversaw Capitec’s rise from a challenger bank to a household name. Lee inherits a legacy of extraordinary growth but also the pressure of maintaining momentum in a far more competitive environment.
Capitec’s story is not just about financial performance. It is about how a bank founded in 1997, just three years after South Africa’s first democratic elections, redefined what banking could mean for millions of people. From its origins as a spin-off of PSG Group to its listing on the JSE, it has remained an example of what local innovation can achieve.
For now, Capitec wears the crown as Africa’s most valuable bank. The real question is whether it can hold on to it as rivals sharpen their strategies.
Also read: Why Private Security is Quietly Taking Over in South Africa
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Source: Business Tech
Featured Image: Lebashe Investment Group
