Saambou investors and account holders do not need to be concerned about their money at the bank, Suzette Plantema, the general manager of corporate communications, says.
The banks' share price took a tumble this week and left bank customers jittery following general negative market perceptions about institutions involved in the microlending sector. Saambou's share price dropped to R1.20 but regained to around R2.70 by yesterday afternoon. It was trading at R13.50 in May.
Recently Absa took a serious knock when it was discovered that the bank had not made adequate provision for bad debts at Unifer, a microlending operation in which Absa has a 61 percent stake.
Plantema says when Saambou announced its half yearly results in September last year, the bank said it had scaled down its exposure to the personal loans market because of uncertainty in the microlending market. Saambou's involvement in microlender Thuthukani is relatively small at only 14 percent of the bank's book.
The bank also said it was making adjustments to the collection of arrears payments and was increasing its general provision for personal loans bad debt by R70 million.
The steps that Saambou took last year are already paying off, Plantema says, but negative sentiment around the microlending sector and market players is affecting the share price.
The bank is also undertaking several initiatives to bring the bank back to the profitable levels of 1996 to 2001.
In the meantime, Plantema says, your money is safe at Saambou, and she says the Reserve Bank is happy with Saambou's reserves.