Old Mutual Ltd

Antony Jenkins, who ran Barclays as CEO from 2012 until 2015, has launched 10x Banking, a platform built to replace the haphazard "spaghetti systems" that underpin most large banks. Jenkins said much of the technology he inherited was created in the 1970s and 1980s, with some dating back to the 1960s, and that delivering a new mortgage or credit card at a big bank can take nine months to 18 months. 10x Banking, founded a decade ago, runs in real time rather than the batch and semi-real-time hybrid most bank systems still use, and its clients include Chase U.K., Old Mutual and Westpac. A £50m raise in 2024 valued the company at north of £500m, or $663m. Jenkins said the goal was to make banking 10 times better, not just a little better, which gave the company its name.

Old Mutual Ltd reported a 21% increase in Life APE sales and gross flows for its first half of 2026, with underlying growth of roughly 12% excluding large corporate gains, alongside an 8% dividend increase and an additional ZAR 1 billion share buyback. The insurer has achieved ZAR 936 million in cumulative cost savings, about ZAR 330 million of that in the first half, and targets at least ZAR 1 billion by the end of 2026. OM Bank reached approximately 750,000 customers by June 2026 and is expected to cross 1 million shortly, with deposits growing to ZAR 1.6 billion by August 2026. Adjusted headline earnings per share fell 27%, mainly on lower shareholder investment returns and active bond positions, while Old Mutual Insure absorbed ZAR 376 million in catastrophe losses net of reinsurance from severe flooding, cutting its underwriting margin by about 3%. CEO Jurie Strydom also announced that Ranen Thakurdin will become CFO designate from 1 January, and that Roger Jardine has taken over as Chair following Trevor Manuel's retirement.