FirstRand’s consistently stated long-term strategic objective is to deliver superior and sustainable economic returns to shareholders within acceptable levels of volatility and maintain balance sheet strength.

FirstRand’s portfolio of leading financial services franchises provides a universal set of transactional, lending, investment and insurance products and services. The franchises operate in markets and segments where they can deliver competitive and differentiated client-centric value propositions, leveraging the relevant distribution channels, product skills, licences and operating platforms of the wider group. Strategy is executed on the back of disruptive and innovative thinking, underpinned by an owner-manager culture combined with the disciplined allocation of financial resources.

Philosophy

They believe in empowering their people to run their businesses as if they are their own - these businesses are aligned through the group strategy, shared values and principles. their philosophy is reflected in their owner-manager culture and their track record for entrepreneurship and innovation; their primary points of differentiation from their peers - accordingly, they encourage their passionate and committed people to balance profit growth with sustainable development

The original business, which eventually became firstrand limited in 1998, was founded in the 1970s as a specialist investment bank by three entrepreneurs, GT Ferreira, Laurie Dippenaar and Paul Harris

Since then, the founders, together with a long-standing and stable management team, have created one of the largest financial institutions in South Africa. The founders still retain a significant equity stake in FirstRand through RMB Holdings and Laurie Dippenaar is the group's non-executive chairman.

FirstRand was created in its current form in February 1998 through the disposal of Anglo American's interests in First National Bank and Southern Life, and the merger of these assets with RMB and Momentum; one of the largest transactions in the history of local financial services.

In February 2005, FirstRand sold an effective 10% interest in the group to five broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partners and previously disadvantaged FirstRand staff. The BEE partners, Kagiso Trust Investments (KTI), Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) and Women's Development Businesses (WDB) represent broad-based communities.

The BEE partners were selected because they share FirstRand's objectives of enhancing BEE by addressing the needs of a wide constituency. In addition, the BEE partners have excellent reputations, successful track records and long-standing relations with FirstRand and each other. They have agreed to retain their shares until 2018 and by the middle of 2015 significant value from the scheme will cascade down to a broad group of beneficiaries in the underlying trusts through dividends.

In January 2015, 66.7 million FirstRand ordinary shares and 12.6 million MMI ordinary shares were sold on behalf of the beneficiaries of the FirstRand BEE staff scheme who elected to sell their shares.

"The group is extremely proud to have been able to generate such significant value for the participants in its BEE scheme, which overall represents a total of R23 billion. They are particularly pleased that so many of their employees have benefited from the group's success over the past ten years with a total of R6 billion of value created for almost 13 000 people through the staff schemes, " Sizwe Nxasana (CEO: FirstRand Limited at the time) announced.

Through its African subsidiaries, the group offers full service banking in eight African countries, namely, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana, and through RMB, corporate and investment banking in Nigeria. In addition to its physical operating footprint in Africa, the group has established platforms in certain key financial centres that generate opportunities from cross-border investment flows between Europe, Africa and Asia.

The bank also has a number of representative offices. RMB has been active in Kenya for a number of years, and, through the management of FRB’s representative office, is increasing its focus on what is the trade and investment hub of east Africa with increasing flows from China and India. RMB also manages the Angolan representative office which provides a platform in western Africa to identify investment banking opportunities across this region.

The Middle East remains an important source of global capital and the FRB representative office, based in Dubai, plays a pivotal role in facilitating investment into the African continent and investment flows between Europe, Africa and Asia.

China is strategically important to the African continent’s growth story. Managed by RMB, the Shanghai representative office, which was opened in 2007, has played a leading role in facilitating trade flows between both China and the African continent and supporting the ongoing investment and infrastructural development that China is able to provide.

The London branch focuses on funding through the capital and banking markets. MotoNovo, the group’s vehicle and asset finance business in the UK, also forms part of the branch.

The Guernsey branch (trading as FNB Channel Islands) represents a niche, hard-currency deposit franchise by servicing predominantly high net worth South African customers.

FirstRand remains the only South African bank with a branch in India, which provides an investment banking offering to Indian clients active in the Indo-African corridor.