Pros
With its re-brand, Absa has become a truly pan-African brand with operations across the continent and perhaps even internal mobility opportunities in the future. It is a great place to learn while you work and there seems to be a commitment to widening your experience to a certain point.
Cons
The banking sector is under pressure to reduce costs and automate an become more digitally-led. Large scale banking operations like Absa and the other older South African banking behemoths are also less agile and therefore under more pressure from the smaller, newer startups. Ultimately cost pressures lead to continual cost-cutting and staff reorganisation measures which leads to job uncertainty. Absa as a bank for people and businesses carries a poor sentiment. It rates low in customer service indexes in South Africa and struggles to shake the perception that it's an old lumbering institution resistant to change. The new brand delivered fresh energy to the workforce, but the Bank failed to capitalise on this fully. Career advancement is more lateral at mid-to-senior levels than upward growth.
