Investments in productive assets by broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) enterprises in South Africa (SA) during the 1990s have been constrained, in part, by a lack of access to capital. Even if capital can be sourced, BEE businesses often face a liquidity problem, as conventional, equally amortized loan repayment plans do not take into account the size and timing of investment returns, or there are lags in the adjustment of management to such new investments. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to compare five alternative loan products to the conventional fixed repayment (equally amortized) loan (FRL) that lenders could offer to finance BEE investments in productive assets that are faced with liquidity stress, namely: the single payment non-amortized loan (SPL); the decreasing payment loan (DP); the partial payment loan (PPL); the graduated payment loan (GPL); and the deferred payment loan (DEFPLO-2). This is done firstly by comparing loan repayment schedules for the six loans using a loan principal of R200 000, repaid over 20 years at a nominal contractual annual interest rate of 10%. Secondly, data from five actual BEE loan applications to ABSA Bank and Ithala in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) during 2003 are used to compare how the FRL, SPL, DP, GPL, and DEFPLO-l, affect investment profitability, and both the borrower's and the lender's cash-flows, assuming that the lender sources funds from a development finance wholesaler. Results for the first part of the study show that the SPL has smaller initial annual repayments than the FRL (R20 000 versus R23 492) that ease liquidity stress in the early years after asset purchase, but requires a nominal balloon repayment of both interest and principal in year 20 of R220 000. The SPL is also the most costly loan, with total nominal and real repayments that are R130 162 and R43 821, respectively, more than the FRL. The PPL has the lowest total nominal and real repayments assuming that the borrower can make the nominal balloon repayment in year 5 of R202 173. If not, the ending balance of the loan in year 4 would have to be refinanced at current market interest rates. In this situation, the PPL uses very similar financing terms to that of the variable rate long-term loans already used in SA, and thus may not be a useful option to consider for BEE investments facing a liquidity problem. Interest rates may have risen over the last four years of the loan, encouraging lenders to add a premium into the interest rate for the refinanced loan, which could worsen the liquidity position of the BEE enterprise. The DP requires higher initial nominal annual loan repayments (R6 508 more than the FRL) that do not ease the liquidity problem in the early years of operation. The DP loan, however, has total nominal and real repayments that are R59 838 and R23 118, respectively, less than the FRL. A GPL with diminishing, finite interest-rate subsidy seems to have the most potential to ease the BEE investment's liquidity stress. The 17YRGPL used to buy land had total nominal and real repayments that were R84 634 and R67 726 (after subsidy), respectively, less than the FRL. If the GPL was used to purchase machinery-type assets, then the 6YRGPL would have required total nominal and real repayments of R13 957 and R12 596, respectively, less than the FRL. Finally, the DEFPLO-2 loan required a total nominal repayment of R531 128 (R61 290 more than the FRL) and a total real repayment of R345 358 (R26 095 more than the FRL). Clearly, the GPL and DEFPLO-2 loan repayment schedules can partly resolve the liquidity problem in the early years (assuming no major income shocks), although the DEFPLO-2 plan requires higher total repayments than the FRL. The question remains whether lenders would be prepared to implement these two financing plans for BEE investments in productive assets, where the funds to finance the diminishing, finite interest-rate subsidy or the deferment would be sourced, and how the interest-rate subsidy would affect asset values. In the second part of the study, the profitability of the five proposed BEE investments in KZN during 2003 was compared for the five loan products using the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rateof- return (lRR) capital budgeting procedures. The loan terms, interest rates, principal and characteristics of each BEE firm are different with current rates of return on equity varying by business type. Companies A (five-year loan) and C (10-year loan) are agribusinesses with a higher expected current rate of return of 8% on machinery investments, while companies B (eight-year loan), D (15-year loan), and E (20-year loan) invest in farmland with a lower expected current annual rate of return of 5%. The five business plans may not be representative in a statistical sense of all BEE firms in KZN, but were used because they were readily available. Initially it was assumed that donor/grant funds from a development finance wholesaler were lent to an intermediary (like a commercial bank), which in turn, could finance the five investments using any of the five alternative loans, with the lender's repayment to the wholesaler being via a FRL. It was then assumed that the lender could repay its borrowed funds using the same loans, or combinations of them, that it had granted to these companies. Results show that GPLs and DEFPLs can resolve the liquidity problem associated with investments like land in the early years after purchase provided that projected business performance is adequate, while the SPL and GPL are preferred for BEE projects with stronger initial cash-flows like machinery investments. The study also shows that the loan product that best improves the borrower's liquidity is not always best suited to the lender. In most cases, the GPL suited the borrower, but in four of the five cases, the lender would prefer the SPL and to repay the wholesaler using the SPL. The SPL, however, is unlikely to be used, given the large negative real net cash-flows that it generates when the final payments are due. Recent SA experience with the GPLs (interest rate subsidies funded by private sector sugar millers via Ithala) and the DEFPLs (via the Land Reform Empowerment Facility (LREF) which is a wholesaler of funds in SA) suggests that there is scope to alleviate the liquidity problem if a wholesaler of funds can offer such terms to private banks and venture capital investors who then on-lend to finance BEE asset investments that are otherwise considered relatively high credit risks. This would shift the liquidity problem away from the client to the wholesaler of the funds, but requires access to capital at favourable interest rates. Such capital could be sourced from dedicated empowerment funds earmarked by the private sector, donors and the SA government. The lesson for policymakers is that broad-based BEE could be promoted in other farm and non-farm sectors in SA using similar innovative loan products to complement cash grant funds via financial intermediaries, bearing in mind the limitations of the GPL and DEFPL - such as how to finance the subsidy or deferment, and the impact of income shocks. Donor and National Empowerment Fund capital could be used to allocate grants to provide previously disadvantaged individuals with own equity and also to fund finite, diminishing interest-rate subsidies via GPLs, or to fund DEFPLs (many LREF loans have been leveraged by a cash grant component). This could create an incentive for public/private partnerships, as public/donor funds could be then used to attract private sector funds to finance broadbased BEE investments in SA that satisfy empowerment criteria. The five case studies did not show how the GPLs and DEFPLs could make all profitable (positive net present value) but financially infeasible (returns do not match the size and timing of the lender's financing plan) BEE investments in productive assets under the FRL feasible, except for Company E that showed a positive NPV and IRR when the 19YRGPL was used. They did, however, show how the alternative loans could improve liquidity for investments with either strong or poor cash-flows. The financiers consulted to source case studies in KZN in 2003 at the time of the study could not provide the researcher with any profitable, but financially infeasible, BEE business plans. This raises some concern about how effective these empowerment loan products could be in the future as there is uncertainty over how many potential BEE investments in productive assets in SA are likely to be profitable but financially infeasible. Further research is thus needed to assess the impact of these alternative loans on a wider range of broad-based BEE investments, particularly non-farm projects, than considered in this dissertation. / Thesis (M.Agric.Mgt.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

The potential of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in promoting economic growth in both developed and developing countries is widely accepted and documented by both scholars and policy makers. Particularly lacking are studies on the evidence in support of the importance of credit rationing to the sustainability of SMEs in an emerging economy like South Africa’s. This specific problem, especially in the developing countries, has been identified as the major bottleneck in realising socio-economic potentials of SMEs in those countries. However, one of the major ways of addressing the challenge of inadequate funding that exists within the SME sector is the use of bank credit. This study was therefore undertaken to explore the role of commercial banks in the provision of credit to the SMEs in South Africa. This study focuses on the issue of the relationship between the banking industry and SMEs. In particular, the problem of credit rationing of, and discrimination against SMEs by commercial banks was investigated. Because credit rationing and finance gaps can stem from imperfections on either supply-side (banks), or demand-side (SMEs), or both, the intention of the study was to examine both of these variables in order to uncover the implications of their relationships. The empirical analysis is based on survey data collected by means of a structured questionnaire which was distributed amongst banks and SME borrowers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Contrary to the general view that commercial banks are disinclined to provide credit to SMEs, the study found that South African banks are keen to serve the SMEs and are therefore making efforts to penetrate this potentially profitable market segment. However, several obstacles are potentially restricting the involvement of banks with SMEs in South Africa. The findings revealed that regulations such as the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) and the National Credit Act (NCA) came out strongly as major hindrances of bank financing to SMEs. Furthermore, it was shown that compliance with the NCA was ranked higher than credit history and profitability as a factor hindering the approval of SME loans. - iii - However, by using the structural equation modelling (SEM), the results also show that there is a positive and significant influence of lending technology and collateral on the supply of credit to SMEs. Variables such as creditworthiness, collateral and e-banking were found to have a positive and significant impact on the provision of credit to SMEs by commercial banks. For both the supply- and demand-side analysis, technology came out as the most important predictor of SME access to finance. This means that banks should strive to align their lending techniques with the dynamic technological developments so as to reach as many SMEs as possible even in the geographically dispersed regions. It is anticipated that improving SME access to bank credit could be the key to the growth and sustainability of SMEs, the alleviation of poverty and unemployment; and consequently leading to the growth of the South African economy. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

Text in English / The research attempts to establish the significance of bank records analysis as a technique in tracing fraud suspects. The purposes of conducting this research was to establish the current approach by the investigators of the SAPS in respect of bank records analysis in tracing fraud suspects; to explore and report on the findings of national and international literature in an attempt to find new information thereby improving the current method of bank records analysis and its specific use in tracing fraud suspects; and to make new information, in the form of written articles and this dissertation, available to the SAPS to be considered for inclusion in the training curriculum for their investigators. In collecting data, the researcher used literature study, interviews with individual participants and case dockets analysis. Essentially, the recommendations were drawn from the conclusions of the data obtained. These recommendations may offer solutions to the problem identified. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Recently, bankers have come to realise that banking operations, especially corporate lending, affect and are affected by the natural environment and that consequently, the banks might have an important role to play in helping to raise environmental standards. Although the environment presents significant risks to banks, in particular environmental credit risk, it also perhaps presents profitable opportunities. Stricter environmental regulations have forced companies to invest in environmentally friendly technologies and pollution control measures and in tum generated lending opportunities for bankers. This research examines the corporate practices of three of the four dominant banks in South Africa with respect to the environment, focusing on issues of climate change and environmental risk management by way of reporting and disclosure to all stakeholders. The emphasis on environmental reporting by South African banks has been reinforced by the latest release of the King III Report on Corporate Governance in South Africa. Global governance requires that the triple-bottom line should be applied in all corporate undertakings due to globalisation and trade liberalisation; however, the banking sector has responded poorly to the clarion call. The false view that the banks have no significant relationship with environmental degradation is being disproved. Environmental management is a huge and massive reconstruction of what has gone wrong with nature by human influence. The South African banks have had to face with the challenging tasks of reporting on the direct and mostly the indirect impacts of their environmental activities. Based on the three sampled banks which incidentally had greater percentages of the market capitalizations, the banks have fairly performed in environmental reporting. For example, Standard Bank (SA) Ltd has just signed the Equator Principles in 2007 implying corporate lending was done in 2007 without any respect to environmental impact assessments by corporate borrowers. Consequently, environmental reporting was not done to facilitate informed decision-making by stakeholders mostly shareholders and the communities where borrowers tun businesses. The objective of this research study is to investigate the extent and quantity of/voluntary environmental disclosures in the annual and sustainability reports of the banks listed on Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The periods examined were those subsequent to the release of the Exposure Draft Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) issued in 1999. Using content analysis to focus on the environmental aspects, the research study compared three annual reports and three sustainability reports of 2007 year for the three sampled banks in order to evaluate reporting practices in the period surrounding this intervention. The results suggest a trend to triple bottom-line reporting and the extent and quantity of environmental information, albeit in specific categories.

The impact of climate change on the financial performance of companies is of concern to bank credit processes. The main objective of this research was to develop a South African contextualised credit process that incorporates environmental risk. The research methodology comprised of a mixed-method being content analysis – the qualitative portion and the Probability of Default prediction using a Merton Model and the Hoffmann and Busch (2008) carbon risk analysis model - the quantitative portion. A content analysis of the banks’ Annual Reports, Integrated Reports and Sustainability Reports showed that, while South African banks follow a qualitative approach to embedding environmental risk into their credit process, none of the four banks that formed part of the study divulged their quantitative approach to embedding environmental risk. The study used a proximity matrix method to examine the level of embedding. The second part of the study, which used prior studies as the benchmark, adopted the following: (1) a simulated carbon tax regime as a proxy for an environmental risk, and (2) the Hoffmann and Busch (2008) carbon risk analysis tool and the Merton Model (1974) as the bank credit process proxies. The second part of the study used a sample of 33 JSE-listed Carbon Disclosure Project reporting companies out of a population of 107. The carbon risk analysis showed that the companies in the materials and energy sector have a high carbon risk. However, the results from the Merton Model showed that the companies have enough profit to cushion the additional carbon tax liability, given the insignificant shift in probability of default between the three scenarios, where financial data had (1) no carbon tax, (2) was adjusted for a carbon tax with incentives, and (3) adjusted for carbon tax without incentives. Triangulation of the results from the content analysis, carbon risk analysis and the probability of default analysis confirms that South African banks do not fully integrate environmental risk across the credit value chain or process in the 2010 to 2017 period. However, the carbon risk analysis shows a heavy dependency on carbon sources for critical inputs into the South African companies’ production processes, which if not checked, will affect the credit portfolios of banks. / Finance, Risk Management and Banking / D. Phil (Management Studies)

Abstracts in English, Zulu and Xhosa / The banking sector is an important industry that needs to be safeguarded because its failure is bound to have a negative knock-on effect on the economy at large. The 2007-2009 financial crises were occasioned by banks assuming disproportionate levels of risk resulting in a high incidence of non-performing loans on their books. As such, this study examined the impact of credit risk on the financial performance of 18 South African banks for the period 2008 to 2018. Panel data techniques, namely the pooled ordinary least squares (pooled OLS), fixed effects and random effects estimators were employed to test the relationship between credit risk and financial performance proxied by non-performing loans (NPLs) and by return on assets (ROA) or return on equity (ROE) respectively. The results of the study documented that credit risk is negatively related to financial performance. Thus, the higher the incidence of non-performing loans, the lower the profitability of the bank. Secondly, the study documented that growth has a positive effect on financial performance. This indicates that productivity capacity is ameliorated through bank development. Thirdly, it was found that capital adequacy is positively related to financial performance. While a greater capital adequacy ratio may instil confidence of stakeholders in a bank, making it competitive, a high capital base may be perceived as a lack of initiative and tying up resources which could have yielded better returns in alternative investments. Fourthly, the study did not find any conclusive relationship between size and financial performance. Lastly, the study found that bank leverage and financial performance are negatively related. The implications of the findings are that at a micro level, banks should observe prudent and stringent credit policies in order to limit the incidence of non-performing loans. At a macro level, regulators must enforce supervision in order to ensure that banks manage their credit risk according to the regulations to minimise the risk of bank failure. / Umkhakha wezamabhanga kulibubulo eliqakathekileko eliding ukobana litjhejwe ngombana ukwehluleka kwalo kuqaleka kungaba nomthelela omumbi kezomnotho ngokubanzi bawo. Umraro wezomnotho weminyaka ephakathi kuka -2007-2009 yayikhambisana nesikhathi lapho amabhanga athoma ukuzifaka engozini ekulukazi, kanti lokho kwarholela ebujameni besehlakalo esikhulu seenkolodo ezingenzi inzuzo encwadini zamabhanga. Yeke-ke, leli rhubhululo belihlola umthintela wesikolodo mayelana nobujamo beemali bamabhanga weSewula Afrika ali-18 ukusukela ngomnyaka ka 2008 ukufika ku 2018. Amano wephanele yedatha, wona ngilawa pooled ordinary least squares (pooled OLS), fixed effects kanye namatshwayo ameda alinganisa imithintela kusetjenzisiwe ngehloso yokuhlola itjhebiswano eliphakathi kobungozi besikolodo kanye nobujamo beemali obukhambisana neenkolodo ezingananzuzo (non-performing loans )(NPLs) begodu lokhu kukhambisana nenzuzo elethwa msebenzi wepahla eligugu (return on assets) (ROA) nanyana inzuzo elethwa magugu womnotho anjengemali/matjhezi (return on equity) (ROE) ngaleyo ndlela.. Imiphumela yerhubhululo itlolwe bona ubungozi bokulodisa buhlobene ngendlela embi nobujamo beemali. Yeke-ke, kutjho bona lokha izinga lezehlakalo zeenkolodo ezingangenisi inzuzo naliya phezulu, kutjho bona izinga lokwenza inzuzo ezincani nalo liya phasi emabhangeni. Kwesibili, irhubhululo litlolwe bona ukuhluma komnotho kunomthelela omuhle ebujameni beemali. Lokhu kutjengisa bona amandla wokukhiqiza asekelwa kuthuthukiswa kwamabhanga. Kwesithathu, kuye kwatholakala bona iimali ezaneleko zikhambisana kuhle nobujamo beemali. Kanti godu, isilinganiso esikhulu seemali ezaneleko singaletha ukuzethemba kwabadlalindima ebhangeni, lokhu kwenze ibhanga bona ibe sezingeni lokuphalisana, isisekelo esiphezulu sezeemali singathathwa njengokutlhogeka komzamo wokuhlanganisa imithombo ebeyingaletha iinzuzo ezincono kwamanye amahlelo wokutjalwa kweemali. . Kwesine, irhubhululo akhange lithole nginanyana ngiliphi itjhebiswano phakathi kobukhulu kanye nobujamo beemali. Kokugcina, irhubhululo lithole bonyana ukuqiniswa kwebhanga ngeemali kanye nobujamo beemali kuzizinto ezingahlobani kuhle. Ilwazi elitholiweko lihlathulula bona ezingeni lamabhizinisi amancani, amabhanga kufanele aqale imigomo eqinileko yokukolodisa ukobana akwazi ukwehlisa izehlakalo zeenkolodo ezingangenisi inzuzo. Ezingeni lamabhizinisi amakhulu, iimbethamthetho kufanele ziqinise ilihlo ukobana aqinisekise ukuthi amabhanga alawula ubungozi bokukolodisa ngokwemithetho ukuphungula ubungozi bokwehluleka kwamabhanga. / Icandelo lezeebhanki lushishino olubalulekileyo olufuna ukukhuselwa kuba ukusilela kwalo ngokuqinisekileyo kunganesiphumo esigangqalanga esingasihlanga kuqoqosho ngokubanzi. Ixesha lobunzima kwezemali ngowe-2007-2009 labangelwa ziibhanki ngamazinga omngcipheko angalamananga athe agqibelela kwisehlo esiphezulu seemalimboleko ezingazaliyo kwiincwadi zazo. Kananjalo, olu phononongo luvavanye impembelelo yomngcipheko wonikezomatyala kwizinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali kwiibhaki zaseMzantsi Afrika ezili-18 kwisithuba sowe-2008 ukuya kowe-2018. Uluhlu lweenkcukachalwazi zobugcisa, olubizwa ngokuba yi-pooled ordinary least squares (i-pooled OLS), iziqikeleli zeziphumo ezizinzileyo kunye nezeziphumo zebhaqo zasetyenziswa ukuvavanya unxulumano phakathi komngcipheko wonikezomatyala kunye nezinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali okumelwe ngokwelungelo ziimalimboleko ezingazaliyo (ii-NPL) kunye nembuyekezo yeeasethi (i-ROA) okanye imbuyekezo yezabelo (i-ROE) ngokulandelelana. Iziphumo zophononongo zingqine ngamaxwebhu ukuba umngcipheko wonikezomatyala unonxulumano olungaluhlanga nezinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali. Ngoko ke, okona isehlo seemalimboleko ezingazaliyo siphezulu, kokona inzuzo yebhanki iphantsi. Okwesibini, uphononongo lungqine ngamaxwebhu ukuba uhlumo lunesiphumo esihle kwizinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali. Oku kudandalazisa ukuba isakhono sokuvelisa senziwa ngcono ngophuhliso lwebhanki. Okwesithathu, kufunyaniswe ukuba isilinganiso senkunzi sinxulumene ngokukuko nezinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali. Ngelixa umlinganiselo wesilinganiso senkunzi omkhulu unganika ukuthembeka koqoqosho kwabachaphazelekayo kwibhanki leyo, kuyenze ukuba ibe kwizinga lokukhuphisana nezinye, isiseko senkunzi ephezulu singathathwa njengokusilela kokusungula kunye nokudibanisa imithombo engeyivelise iimbuyekezo ezingcono kutyalomali olulolunye. Okwesine, uphononongo alukhange lufumanise naluphi na unxibelelwano olubonakalayo phakathi kobungakanani nezinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali. Okokugqibela, uphononongo lufumanise ukuba inkxasomali yebhanki kunye nezinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali zinxulumene ngokungakuhlanga. Okubhekiselele kokufunyanisiweyo kukuba kwicandelo loshishino olunganeno, iibhanki kufuneka ziqwalasele imigaqonkqubo yamatyala enobulumko nengqongqo ngenjongo yokunciphisa isehlo seemalimboleko ezingazaliyo. Kwicandelo loshishino olubanzi, abalawuli kufuneka banyanzele ukubekwa kweliso ukuqinisekisa ukuba iibhanki zilawula umngcipheko wonikezomatyala lwazo ngokwayamene nemigaqo ukunciphisa umngcipheko wokusilela kwebhanki. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

The aim of this paper is to research how advanced accounting software can be used by police detectives, financial risk specialists and forensic investigation specialists, who are responsible for the investigation and tracing of the reintegration of proceeds of crime, from underground banking into formal banking system (pro active and reactive money laundering investigation) with a view on criminal prosecution. The research started of by looking at the basic ways how proceeds of crime are smuggled before it is integrated into the formal banking system. In that context, the phenomenon of Underground banking was researched. Currency smuggling, Hawala currency transfer schemes and the way in which it is used to move proceeds of crime were discussed in detail. Thereafter Formal banking and the way in which proceeds of crime is reintegrated from underground banking structures into formal banking systems were discussed. The use of advanced accounting software to trace the point where proceeds of crime are reintegrated into formal banking were researched extensively. Accounting software and investigative techniques on how to trace financial transactions which might be tainted with proceeds of crime were discussed. Accounting software which can be used on office computers such as laptops were discussed and more advanced automated systems which can be used to trace proceeds of crime transactions in the formal banking systems were also discussed. In specific, the investigative techniques on how to use these systems as investigative tools were discussed in great detail. This research paper gives a truly unique perspective on the financial investigative and analytical angle on proceeds of crime and money laundering detection. / Criminal Justice / M.Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

The opening of a bank account serves as the genesis of a bank customer relationship. It is imperative that the establishment of a bank customer relationship be regulated by law. Both the common law and statutory law regulate the admission of new clients to the realm of banking. It is a minimum requirement, in terms of both statutory and common law, that the identity of a prospective client who wishes to open a bank account must both be established and verified. This, the need to know one’s customer, is not only good law but common sense and an effective measure to prevent criminals from accessing the banking system. Parties who work together must know each other. The need to establish and verify the identity of a potential customer is commonly referred to as the Know Your Customer standards, alternatively the Customer Due Diligence framework. The Know Your Customer standards are neither unique to South Africa nor have their origins in South Africa. The Know Your Customer standards are international standards which the Financial Action Task Force and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision have been advocating for quite some time. A confluence of the Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision greatly influenced the birth of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act in South Africa. The Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 prescribes the steps that a bank has to take in order to establish and verify the identity of a potential client. It will be shown in this dissertation that the identification and verification regime established by the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 0f 2001 and the common law are not fool proof. This dissertation makes recommendations on how the current loopholes that exist in the law can be addressed. / Mercantile Law / LLM

Foreign exchange banking organisations afford individuals great career opportunities, and therefore endeavour to attract high-caliber employees who are self-motivated and create the dynamic, innovative and professional culture characteristic of the organisation. Retaining key talent characterised by skills shortages has become an imperative for sustaining competitive business performance in a fast-changing economic environment. The general aim of this research was to develop a model of employee motivation and job satisfaction for staff retention practices in a foreign exchange banking organisation. The concepts of employee motivation, job satisfaction and employee retention were discussed with regard to their history, conceptual foundation, theoretical approaches, types, variables and consequences. The theoretical model was developed accordingly on the basis of the literature review, and revealed the factors that could influence employee retention. The main purpose of the empirical research was to operationalise the theoretically derived motivation and job satisfaction concepts, statistically determine the underlying variables of motivation and job satisfaction that influence employee retention and develop a structural equation model to verify the theoretical model. A quantitative empirical research paradigm using the survey method was followed. Explanatory and descriptive research was used in this study, with a sample of 341 foreign exchange banking individuals drawn from a financial institution. Three questionnaires and a biographical questionnaire were adapted and administered to employees. The Work Preference Inventory (WPI) measured employee motivation, the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) measured job satisfaction, and the Employee Retention Questionnaire (ERQ) measured employee retention intention. A structural equation model development strategy produced a new best-fitting retention model based on the new constructs postulated in the factor analysis. The model indicated that job satisfaction explained the highest variance of retention when compared to motivation. The research should contribute towards a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence employee retention. The new model of employee motivation and job satisfaction for staff retention practices in a South African foreign exchange banking organisation could assist organisations in retaining skilled and talented staff. The study should encourage practitioners to take cognisance of the fact that organisations are different and that the motivation and job satisfaction factors for employee retention need to be considered. / Public Administration and Management / D. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The emerging financial industry of asset-backed short-term finance was investigated by this study. Literature indicated that banks, locally and globally, are forced by regulation and the use of information technology, to rely less on human judgement and more on programmed decision-making, when evaluating loan applications. This leads to time-consuming processes with non-standard loan applications and loss of opportunities for business persons. Asset-backed short-term finance is a market response to this tendency. Due to the emerging nature of this industry, no previous academic description of or investigation into this industry could be found – a gap in academic literature which this study aims to fill. The industry is strategically positioned in relation to banks by focusing on functionality for urgent non-standard loan applications (period between application and decision, and access to decision-makers) as value proposition, where banks are found lacking. Relatively high interest rates form the profit proposition, as firms in this industry have limited access to funds. Collateral is central as risk-mitigating strategy, forming a part of the profit proposition. The people proposition is essential, as the industry is distinguished by individualised decision-making. A survey among customers of this industry identified four clusters of potential customers: The first had no needs unfulfilled by banks, while the other three clusters were attracted by either functionality, or the evaluation of collateral in contrast to repayment ability, or a combination of the two. A survey among providers revealed hesitance to supply information and a low level of agreement on strategic matters – possibly due to the emergent nature of the industry. It is asserted that the basis for further study was laid. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)