Absa wins $218bn GEPF custody mandate from Standard Bank

Absa has been appointed as the new custodian for the Government Employees’ Pension Fund (GEPF), Africa’s largest pension fund. The bank replaces Standard Bank, which held the mandate for 30 years since the fund’s establishment in 1996.

The GEPF manages approximately R3.5 trillion ($218 billion) in assets, serving over 1.2 million active members and more than 565,000 pensioners and beneficiaries. As the Master Custodian, Absa will be responsible for the safekeeping of investment assets, overseeing the settlement of transactions, managing investment-related cash, and providing reporting services to support the fund’s governance.

The transition follows a competitive tender process. For Absa, the contract significantly increases its assets under custody and strengthens a transactional banking relationship with the GEPF that dates back to 2001. For Standard Bank, the loss of the mandate removes a substantial volume of assets from its custodial books and ends a long-standing source of fee-based income.