Since the advent of democracy in 1994, South African banks have faced increased competition and rising costs as a result of regulatory shifts and technological change. The admission of large foreign banks into the retail banking space, as well as the 2007-2009 global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, have added to their challenges.
For the past 17 months, the global economy has endured unprecedented upheaval because of the pandemic. By mid-May 2021, South Africa had recorded 1.62 million cases and more than 55,000 deaths because of Covid-19, the highest on the African continent.
