The Group continued with the monitoring of the elements of the B-BBEE generic scorecard and the Financial Services Sector Charter codes, which includes socio-economic development, preferential procurement, employment equity, skills development, management control, enterprise development and ownership control.

In the year under review, transformation was accelerated and the following were areas of focus:

• Recognising the indirect ownership by black companies, black empowered companies and black shareholding in assessing overall black ownership credentials.
• Our recruitment and advancement policies and practices were strengthened through the introduction of the Employment Equity Policy to give preference wherever possible to previously disadvantaged individuals and identify, recruit and develop black people at executive and management level.
• The formation of divisional employment equity and skills development committees to assist the Group to fast track compliance to both the Employment Equity and Skills Development Acts.
• CContinued to encourage our suppliers to comply with the B-BBEE Act and provided them with support when requested to do so.
• We continued with our Enterprise Development projects i.e. both the TIPA project and the Debt Collection project. The Group remains committed to a targeted procurement policy, focused on empowering black business.
• Our recruitment and advancement policies and practices that give preference wherever possible to previously disadvantaged individuals.
• A number of institutions, communities and previously disadvantaged individuals continued to receive Group support through the Socio-Economic Development programmes and funding, including the offer of bursaries to previously disadvantaged learners.
• Structures were put in place at the divisional level and supported by the Group Leadership and Development Council to ensure monitoring and evaluation of the progress on the B-BBEE scorecard.

Looking ahead (2010 to 2012) - The Transformation department will ensure:

• Meaningful transformation and the resultant commercial value thereof.
• B-BBEE Act compliance and stakeholder engagement.
• Accelerated advancement of designated groups.
• Introduction of Graduate Development in order to fast track our talent pipeline and bring designated people into the Group.
• Every division of the Group demonstrates its commitment to diversity by implementing ambitious divisional diversity transformation plans in support of the Group wide plans.

A legal and compliance officer was appointed who is in the process of implementing formal processes and procedures to enhance legal compliance throughout the Group.