Capitec, South Africa’s biggest bank by customer base, has edged past FirstRand to become Africa’s most valuable bank by market value, a milestone reached over a month after Graham Lee assumed office as CEO, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The Stellenbosch-based lender’s share price has surged 16% since January, outpacing the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) Africa Banks Index, which is up just 3.5% over the same period. FirstRand, by contrast, has slipped 1.5%.
South Africa, housing Africa’s largest banking institutions, is dominated by five heavyweights – Standard Bank, FirstRand, Absa, Nedbank, and Capitec. The bank has long held the status of the smallest in the group after transferring from a Tier 2 lender. Capitec has since grown by targeting low-income borrowers and issuing unsecured loans. Today, the bank boasts of over 24 million customers, outstripping its rival.
Since Lee assumed office last month, Capitec’s stock has gained nearly 5% month-to-date, closing at ZAR 365,199 ($20,021) on August 27. FirstRand has continued to lose ground, down 1.3% to ZAR 7,782 ($427), on the same day, marking its eighth straight monthly decline.
According to Kwayisi.org, a global trading platform, Capitec now ranks as the 11th most valuable company on the JSE with a market capitalisation of ZAR 424 billion – equivalent to about 1.95% of the entire equity market.
This contrasts with 2024, when FirstRand was named South Africa’s largest bank by market capitalisation. FirstRand’s market value now stands at ZAR 418.6 billion ($23.25 million), down more than 7% from the ZAR 454.5 billion ($25.1 billion) reported in 2024.
Still, the valuation hides a structural weakness. Capitec’s assets stood at just ZAR 239 billion ($13.1 billion) in August 2025, a fraction of FirstRand’s ZAR 2.5 trillion ($137.1 billion) over the same period, underscoring the gap in balance sheet strength and liquidity. Analysts caution that Capitec’s ability to sustain growth will depend on turning market optimism into asset expansion.
Meanwhile, FirstRand’s assets have grown more than 50% from ZAR 1.6 trillion ($88 billion) in 2024.
Even so, Finance in Africa’s analysis of 2024 fiscal year performance shows Capitec ranked as the region’s most efficient bank by assets, delivering a return on assets (ROA) of 8.0%, well ahead of FirstRand’s 0.9% – a sign of Capitec’s sharper optimisation despite its smaller balance sheet.
Founded in 1997 by Michiel le Roux, Capitec was spun out of PSG Group in 2001 and listed on the JSE in 2002 under the ticker CPI. Its steady rise from challenger brand to South Africa’s most valuable lender is now being tested as investors look for whether Lee’s tenure can deliver growth beyond share-price momentum.
Note: Figures were originally reported in South African Rand and converted using the average official exchange rates of $1/R18.24 for the first seven months of 2025 and $1/R18.33 for 2024.
