Absa said yesterday it ‘respectfully disagrees’ with the Competition Tribunal’s ruling that it must reopen four Sekunjalo Group bank accounts, and it is considering taking legal action to keep them closed.

A Business Day report notes on Friday the Competition Tribunal granted interim relief to the Sekunjalo Group, preventing three banks from closing its bank accounts and ordering five others, including Absa, to reopen bank accounts already closed.

The interim relief is a temporary protection that applies for six months from the date of the order, or pending the conclusion of an investigation by the Competition Commission into a complaint about restrictive practices, which Sekunjalo Group companies filed against the banks.

‘Banking plays a central role in the economic life of society, and no commercial transaction of substance and scale is possible without banking services,’ the Competition Tribunal said in its finding.

The tribunal ordered Absa to reinstate Sekunjalo’s accounts, including all services it provided, on the same terms and conditions that existed before the closure or termination of the accounts.

Absa said it succeeded regarding nine of 13 applicants that challenged the bank’s decision to close its accounts, and that it disagrees with the order to reopen bank accounts of the four successful applicants on an interim basis.

‘The bank is considering available legal options and will take such steps as it deems appropriate in the circumstances,’ it said.

Sekunjalo chair Iqbal Survé and 35 others brought the interim relief application against nine banks, claiming their conduct in terminating the banking relationship and/or refusing to provide banking and payment services constituted an abuse of dominance and/or collusive conduct, in contravention of the Competition Act.

Other banks ordered to reopen certain bank accounts on the same terms and conditions as before they were closed include Nedbank, FirstRand, SasFin and Access Bank.

Full Business Day report