Banks going after entry-level clients

According to the Fin24, Absa, one of the biggest retail banks says that its loan book has grown by 12,4% to R12,6 billion while Standard Bank's loans are 33% higher year-on-year and FNB has seen growth of 24% over the past 12 months.

Fin24 quotes Metropolitan Asset Managers' Safs Narker as saying secured lending by the banks has been "mooted" while "unsecured lending" has seen double-digit growth in the past few years. Unsecured lending is more risky for banks as they do not have collateral to attack if the client defaults on the loan.

For more:

• Fin24: SA's major banks tap entry-level segment