Manuel adds major muscle to Old Mutual board

Old Mutual South Africa has scored a massive boost in its aim to comply with the Twin Peaks supervisory regime with the announcement that former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel will become its chairperson.

Manuel will join the board of Old Mutual on January 1, 2015 and is set to become the chairperson of its South African subsidiary, the company announced on Thursday.

He will join the Old Mutual board as a non-executive director and member of the board risk committee in anticipation that he will become the chairperson of Old Mutual Group Holdings (OMGH) after incumbent Paul Hanratty leaves the group during 2016.

"I am very much looking forward to being able to contribute to the Old Mutual Group's further development over the coming years," Manuel said in a statement.

The OMGH board under Manuel’s leadership will tackle issues stemming from South Africa’s Twin Peaks supervisory regime.

This is a massive boost for Old Mutual.

In 2002, in his role as Finance Minister, Manuel attempted to establish a super-regulator to oversee the functions of the Reserve Bank and the Financial Services Board (FSB), according to BDLive.

Manuel’s plans were a lot tougher than the ones eventually unveiled by former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in 2011.

His Twin Peaks model aims to improve the local financial s services sector's regulatory framework, where the Reserve Bank would act as the prudential supervisor, while the FSB regulates market conduct.

Manuel has been busy since leaving his senior post in South Africa’s cabinet in 2014. 

In September, Manuel was appointed to the SABMiller board and appointed to the corporate accountability and risk assurance committee. His wife, Barclays Africa and Absa CEO Maria Ramos, left this board when she became Absa’s CEO in 2009.

Manuel is also the deputy chairperson of Rothschild in South Africa and a senior adviser to the group worldwide.

Manuel was minister of Finance from 1996 to 2009, during the presidencies of Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, and then became the Minister in the Presidency for the National Planning Commission from 2009 to 2014 under President Jacob Zuma.

Patrick O'Sullivan, chairperson of Old Mutual, said he was delighted to appoint Manuel, “given his wealth of experience in advising and guiding the development of the financial services sector in emerging markets”.

“His track record of leadership in developing sound regulation for financial services over many years will be of great benefit to the group, in particular as we prepare for forthcoming changes in the regulatory environment in South Africa," he said.

News24.com