Johannesburg - Emerging market bank Standard Chartered yesterday reassured 20twenty clients that the future of the online retail banking operation was secure despite lay-offs at its Cape Town base.
About 35 of the internet bank's staff base of 220 have already left or are in the process of leaving the bank.
John Kivits, the chief executive of Standard Chartered South Africa, said the redundancies were necessitated by the rationalisation of the parent bank's consumer business in South Africa.
He said a consumer bank would be built on the Standard Chartered brand this year.
Hogging the headlines this week, Standard Chartered has been the subject of South African market speculation regarding a second foreign bid for one of the big four local banks.
While the 150-year-old British bank has strongly denied being in talks with FirstRand's First National Bank, it is widely expected to follow Barclays into the South African retail banking market.
Barclays is awaiting regulatory and ministerial approval before progressing with its plans to make a partial offer for a controlling stake in Absa.
Standard Chartered also made headlines on Monday when it outbid rival HSBC for Korea First Bank in a deal that will cost it $3.3 billion (R19.6 billion).
The staff departures at 20twenty were the final leg of the bank's local restructuring, Kivits said.
Expected to be completed by the end of this month, the lay-offs were preceded by the departure of 20twenty founder and former chief executive Christo Davel in November last year.
The internet bank was acquired for less than $10 million from the curator of its parent Saambou, which was put into liquidation in 2002.
Already an established wholesale banking player, Standard Chartered's acquisition of 20twenty was its initiation into South Africa's retail banking arena.
Competing head on with the country's major four banks for a slice of the online retail banking market, 20twenty was relaunched seven months ago but has been slow to get back on its feet.
Its client base has risen to 30 000 from 20 000 in the seven months since its relaunch but with between 1.5 million and 2 million South Africans using internet banking services, its share of the overall internet banking market has remained stunted.
But Kivits said there were no plans to do away with the 20twenty brand as yet.
Using 20twenty as its direct branding arm, Standard Chartered intended to launch "innovative and very competitive new products" into the local market from this year. Already a home loan has been introduced.
"The last thing we would want to do its get rid of the 20twenty customer experience," said Kivits.
"We remain committed to 20twenty and will continue to expand in South Africa."