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Treasury says Land Bank must fix its debt to resume lending

Published

National Treasury told Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance that the Land Bank has defaulted on its debt since 1 April 2020. The committee urged that the debt restructuring be finalised this financial year so the bank can lend again.

Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo said the bank's debt arose from poor financial management, which hurt its liquidity and led to defaults. He said government believes these challenges should be remitted so the bank can return to full operations soon. The briefing also covered an amendment to Section 45 of the Land Bank Act.

Treasury gave the bank fiscal support of R10 billion. R3 billion of that was transferred in 2020. The bank reported a profit of just under R12 million for the 2025/26 financial year.

The original target for completing the restructuring was 30 September 2026. Thabi Nkosi, the bank's former non-executive chairperson, said the turnaround strategy is starting to see green shoots and that the bank is in a healthy cash position. Asked by committee member Ashor Sarupen when the restructuring would finish, she said the bank had hit problems with some lenders.

Committee chairperson Joseph Maswanganyi said the talks on a solution should end this financial year. He also said the committee recommends that the bank review its policy of outsourcing work that its own employees could do.

Key facts

Who
David Masondo (Deputy Minister of Finance); Thabi Nkosi (Land Bank's former non-executive Chairperson); Ashor Sarupen (Committee member); Joseph Maswanganyi (Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance)
What
National Treasury told the Standing Committee on Finance that the Land Bank still needs to resolve its debt problem, which has caused defaults since 1 April 2020, before it can return to full operations. The committee urged the debt restructuring to be finalised during the current financial year so the bank can resume lending.
When
20 October 2026
Where
South Africa
Status
Reported

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