Categories: Banking NewsReviews

Grindrod Bank review 2022

Published by
William Dube
GRINDROD Bank Limited
Type of company Private
Sector Financial
Industry Banking
Address 5 Arundel Close Kingsmead
Office Park Durban
4001
South Africa
Founded 1994
Products Invoice discounting, Corporate finance, Loans, Investments, Savings, Deposits, Property
Number of employees 190+
Phone nnumber 27 31 333 6600
Total aassets R3.7 Billion
Company website Www.grindrodbank.co.za

A division of Grindrod group, Grindrod bank is a registered financial services provider and is regulated by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). Grindrod bank provides services in corporate finance, ETFs, debt finance, property finance and investments.

Grindrod Bank was formed in 1994 with its existence spanning over 2 decades. The bank is 100% owned by Grindrod Financial Holdings. Grindrod Bank is headquartered in Durban and has offices in Sandton, Pretoria and Cape Town.

Grindrod Group has over 100 years of experience in freight movement and specialized cargo services by road, rail, and sea. Today, Grindrod Group has partnerships and joint ventures in 32 countries worldwide, making it a clearing and forwarding giant. With all these achievements, Grindrod Group now offers financial services under Grindrod Bank.

Grindrod Bank provides banking services to small and medium enterprises. Other services offered by the bank include retail card services, property lending, cash deposit management and capital markets.

From a rating by Global Credit Rating, they rated Grindrod bank limited as ‘BBB+’. The company is also a level 5 BBBEE contributor.

A brief history of Grindrod Bank

Grindrod Group was founded in 1910 by an ambitious man who saw a need to start a clearing and forwarding business. His name was Captain John Grindrod, who gave birth to Grindrod, now the biggest clearing and forwarding business in South Africa.

In 1971, Grindrod made a big move by establishing South Africa’s first container depot and service. This was a great achievement at the time for the company as it was seen as the pioneer of containerisation in the country.

Today, the Grindrod terminals have an annual capacity of 18.7 million tonnes of dry bulk and 120 thousand vehicles. The terminal capacity includes those in Maputo, Walvis Bay, Richards Bay, and Durban.

Grindrod Group decided to venture into the financial services sector in 1994 by establishing Grindrod Bank Limited. This was the birth of what was soon to be one of the biggest banks in South Africa. Today, the bank employs over 190 employees.

In 2005 Grindrod Bank Limited acquired Marriott Corporate Property Bank which today trades as Grindrod Bank and Grindrod Asset management services. The company manages total assets of a value of R15, 7 billion.

Grindrod Bank Limited has assets in excess of 3.7 billion Rands. Shareholders’ equity is now over 250 million, all accumulated over a period of 2 decades.

Grindrod bank services

Corporate finance

Grindrod Bank’s corporate finance division provides specialised services in negotiating and executing corporate finance transactions. The company outsources specialised services from the highly skilled Oaklins International team, as and when required.

Oaklins’ team has the capacity to provide Grindrod clients with corporate finance advice and transactions that are objective and independent.

Services offered by the Grindrod Bank corporate finance division include:

  • Listings and Initial Public Offerings
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • BBBEE Funding and Financial Structuring
  • Capital raising

Listing and IPOs: Grindrod provides advice on the full listing process, from valuing a company, restructuring, drafting listing documents, and investor insights drafting.

The Grindrod team consists of JSE-approved Executives. This team assists clients listed on the JSE’s mainboard and AltX markets to comply with the JSE’s requirements and takeover regulations.

Mergers and Acquisitions: Grindrod identifies acquisition targets for its clients by digging deep within the industry. Making use of the services from Oaklin International, transactions are monitored from an expert point of view.

Other merger and acquisition services include preparation of company sales, valuation advice, deal structuring, overseeing negotiations and strategic development.

B-BBEE Funding and financial structuring: Grindrod has years of experience and expertise

in dealing with B-BBEE transactions. The company help with negotiations, structuring, facilitating and funding B-BBEE transactions.

Capital raising: the company offers advisory services in all areas of capital raising. With a network of investors, the company is able to help capital seekers find investors.

Property Lending

Grindrod property lending focuses on finance for development opportunities and commercial property development. Funding is available for investment and development. Lending on the property ranges from traditional lending and high leverage debt.

Offer on traditional mortgage finance is offered up to 70% of the property value. If the value of the funding is over 70% of the traditional level then the debt is a mezzanine debt. Mezzanine is a combination of traditional and equity finance.

Mezzanine funding is utilised to bridge the gap between the available cash resources that a client may have and the traditional senior debt level. With offices in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town, it is able to consider properties in most locations within South Africa.

Exchange-Traded Funds

The bank allows investors to invest in ETFs managed by CORESHARES. CORESHARES is a business unit within the Grindrod financial group and manages a collective investment scheme in securities and tracks investment solutions across EFTs.

This is for investors who are looking to invest in a low-risk portfolio. ETFs are low-risk in nature as they track and monitor an index like the JSE. Because the low-risk returns are low as compared to investing in a single stock.

Other services

Grindrod also offers invoice factoring services to businesses that need finance from an uncashed invoice. This helps businesses with immediate liquid cash whenever needed.

Retail card services are also offered through FSB registered intermediaries who provide banking services to Grindrod bank clients. These intermediaries are co-brands that also offer Mastercard branded debit cards with ts and cs governed by agreements entire between Grindrod Bank and financial intermediaries.

Grindrod Bank Limited Executive

Executives Board Members
David Andrew Polkinghorne
CEO
Julian Hilton Beare
Andrew Blades
Exec director
Robert Anthony Norton
Rakesh Garach
CFO
Michael John Hankinson
Unathi Mtya
CTO
Hassen Adams
Michael Mun – Gavin
Walter Dayson Geach
Amanda Dambuza
Petrus Johannes Uys

Conclusion

Grindrod bank limited is a great bank /company to use if you want your company to go public. With consideration of the experience that the bank has and with the help of Oaklin International, company valuation needs and JSE requirements can be easily met.

As much as Grindrod Bank is not your typical commercial bank like FNB or Absa, it has put its resources into investment banking more than anything else. Its ability to compete with major banks is limited, and it cannot, at this stage, be a match for any of the big five banks.

It is interesting how Grindrod does its business. Many are curious about what the bank will have to offer for the future, considering its long-term objectives.

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William Dube

William Dube is a finance and economic news expert with over 10 years of experience in economic anaylsis, financial product assessment and market analysis. With a numerous certificates from prestigious universities including but not limited to Yale University and the University of Pennyslivenia. William specializes in providing insightful news developments in South Africa and commentary on investment strategies, risk management, and global economic trends. You can contact him on william@rateweb.co.za