Absa delay in closing Gupta bank accounts explained

Absa had every right to wait 15 months before it closed down the accounts of Gupta-owned companies‚ Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Kuben Naidoo stressed in Parliament yesterday (Wednesday), according to a TimesLIVE report. It notes Naidoo said the law did not allow banks to close accounts simply on the basis of suspicions. He was replying to a question by DA finance spokesperson David Maynier as to why it had taken Absa so long to close the accounts of companies owned by the Gupta family‚ who have come under fire for their close relationship with President Jacob Zuma. The report says Maynier noted that Absa decided to terminate the banker-client relationship with the Gupta-owned Oakbay companies and related parties on 18 November, 2014‚ but only formally closed the accounts on 16 February, 2016. The exchange took place during public hearings held by Parliament's Finance and Trade and Industry committees on transformation of the financial services sector.