ABSA CRACKS BOARD DIRECTOR

SOUTH African lender Absa this week sacked independent director Sipho Pityana from its board after he took the country’s banking regulator to court over a failed attempt to become Absa’s chairperson. The move marks the latest upset in the upper echelons of one of Africa’s biggest banks following the departure of chief executive Daniel Mminele earlier this year in a strategy dispute after just 15 months on the job. Absa, which had already removed Pityana from key board positions earlier this month, dismissed him as a director on Wednesday, saying his actions after his unsuccessful attempt to become chairperson had created “a sustained and irresoluble conflict”. Pityana, once lead independent director and chairperson of Absa’s remuneration committee, filed docu- ments at South Africa’s High Court in late October arguing the Prudential Authority, which approves key appointments at the country’s banks, objected to his nomination for chairperson informally and without following proper procedure, thwarting his application while denying him the chance to defend himself.