Capitec bank slammed as ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’ in damning report by Viceroy

In a report published this morning, the firm alleges that the retail bank is a  ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’.

“We believe that Capitec is a loan shark with massively understated defaults masquerading as a community microfinance provider,” it said adding that the South African Reserve Bank & Minister of Finance should immediately place Capitec into curatorship.

“We have taken note of the Viceroy report on Capitec Bank. We are currently in the process of investigating the report in detail and will respond appropriately,” Capitec CEO Gerrie Fourie told Moneyweb.

Shares in Capitec have fallen more than 7% following the release of the report, with shares in stakeholder PSG Group over 10% by 10.30am.

In an interview with Bloomberg Viceroy head, Fraser Perring acknowledged that Viceroy has a short position on the stock.

Viceroy gained prominence after publishing a damning report on Steinhoff, shortly after the retailer announced accounting irregularities, which sent its shares into free fall in December 2017.

Prior to the publication of the report, a tweet by Viceroy stating that it was investigating another South African firm, caused anxiety in the local market. Shares in Aspen and the Resilient stable of companies, rumoured to have been potential targets of the report, were negatively impacted.

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