DURBAN - The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) has welcomed its new CEO, Nischal Mewalall, who started his tenure at the firm on June 1. Chairman of the Sabric board Y Abba Omar explained that after an extensive search, the decision was made to appoint Mewalall.
“He brings to the organisation a wealth of experience and insights which can only help build on Sabric’s firm foundations while also looking at innovative responses to the ever-evolving world of crime and fraud,” added Omar. Former CEO Kalyani Pillay supported the company’s decision to appoint Mewalall.
“I have no doubt that Nischal will lead the Sabric team to add greater value in the fight against bank-related crimes and empower the public to take care of their money,” said Pillay.
Mewalall joins Sabric from his former role as the head of crime and security risk management at First National Bank (FNB), where he was responsible for co-ordinating the detection and response to crime and security threats across the FirstRand group. His career began at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), where he served as a prosecutor and subsequently spent 13 years at the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), leading the regulator's monitoring and analysis division. “I look forward to leading Sabric and building on its success by leveraging technology, data and AI to bring even greater value to our members and stakeholders, as after all, they are at the heart of this business,” Mewalall said.
Sabric was formed by South African banks to support the banking industry in the combating of crime. Its principle business is to detect, prevent and reduce organised crime in the banking industry through effective public-private partnerships. The creation of public awareness of various bank-related crimes and educating the public on how to protect themselves is one of Sabric’s key focus areas.