Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has named Lizelle Pienaar as head of the bank’s newly created treasury and trade solutions (TTS) business and Louis du Plessis as head of trade and working capital.

The reshuffle brings together RMB’s transaction banking, trade and working capital, and payments businesses.

While trade finance and working capital loans were previously included with term lending under RMB’s investment banking division, they have now been repositioned to be more closely linked to the transaction banking business and better serve clients’ day-to-day banking requirements, the bank says.

The TTS business, headed up by Pienaar, sits alongside the bank’s investment banking and markets businesses. Pienaar previously led RMB’s corporate transaction banking business for the past 10 years.

Both Pienaar and du Plessis are based in Johannesburg.

Du Plessis, who reports to Pienaar, will focus on providing trade, supply chain and working capital solutions to RMB’s corporate and institutional client base. He is also responsible for growing the bank’s business in the major Africa trade corridors.

Du Plessis rejoined RMB in 2020 as head of trade finance in its debt and trade solutions division, after spending 18 months as managing director at Palladius Debt Solutions. He previously spent six years with the bank as trade and working capital head for financial institutions (FI) and non-bank FI segments, including trade risk distribution, insurance, escrow and the origination of trade funding.

“Repositioning our capabilities to be more aligned with client realities of managing complex supplier and buyer ecosystems will help us to further unlock value for our clients and RMB,” says Pienaar.

“Having our trade and working capital capabilities closer to transaction banking will benefit clients in the way we design solutions to meet their needs,” adds du Plessis.