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Overview
Work history
Education
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PAUL BEHRMANN

PAUL BEHRMANN

London,London

Summary

CEO & Founder of Payflex, the largest buy now pay later (BNPL) fintech in South Africa with 500k+ customers and 3,000 merchants. Built Payflex from the ground up across product, tech, risk, marketing, sales and operations. Raised angel, seed and Series A funding and then sold Payflex to Zip Co (an ASX listed fintech) in 2022. Prior experience includes 20+ years in banking in senior roles across product (card & vehicle finance), risk (vehicle finance & investment banking) and corporate finance. Worked at UBS, Visa, Capital One, Nedbank, Standard Bank and Barclays Africa in the UK and South Africa. Keen tennis player, reader, traveller, and family man. UK and SA citizen with Australian permanent residence.

Overview

29
29
years of professional experience
6
6
years of post-secondary education

Work history

CEO & Founder

Payflex
Johannesburg
01.2018 - Current

Chief Analytics Officer

Barclays Africa
Johannesburg
02.2017 - 07.2019
  • Wholesale Credit
  • Responsible for portfolio analytics, models, scored lending, MI development and data science activities for wholesale credit covering the Business Bank, Commercial Property Finance and Corporate Lending portfolios
  • Current initiatives include: RWA optimisation (R11bn saving), model landscape remediation, review of peer-to-peer lending exposure, optimisation of the SME scorecard and lending strategy, MI development for the CPF and CIB portfolios, and a data science initiative to enrich Agri portfolio data, visualize the portfolio, and identify risks and opportunities through a machine learning algorithm
  • Report to COO, Barclays Africa Wholesale Credit.

Head

Barclays Africa
Johannesburg
01.2016 - 05.2016
  • Portfolio Management, Strategy & Analytics, Business Bank Credit
  • Responsible for portfolio management, strategy and analytics for the Business Bank credit portfolio in South Africa (c.R80bn), including the setting of risk appetite and lending criteria, formulation and optimisation of credit strategies, portfolio analytics, key project and account management, and ensuring that the model and control environment are fit-for-purpose and optimised
  • Report to Chief Credit Officer, Barclays Africa Business Bank.

Chief Risk Officer

Barclays Africa
Johannesburg
03.2013 - 04.2016
  • Absa Vehicle and Asset Finance and Ford Financial Services
  • Responsible for the end-to-end risk management of the Absa (R48bn) and Ford Credit (R14bn) asset finance portfolios with R25bn new production per annum and an impairment budget of R700m
  • Credit Mandate: R350m
  • Key achievements include: best quality vehicle finance portfolio in the industry; development of strong risk management team across originations, pricing, impairments and collections strategy; design and monitoring of risk appetite statements for portfolios; development of new pricing strategy to improve margins by 40-60bp and reduce pricing overrides by 50%; design and implementation of improved origination scorecards to better segment risk (+R2bn production per annum); development of automated conditional offer proposal (+R500m production per annum); introduction of high risk dealer forum to identify and remediate “risky” dealers; design of optimised affordability assessment strategy to comply with tighter National Credit Act affordability regulations; development of a test assurance programme to reduce system errors; identification and remediation of a Ponzi-type vehicle finance scheme; delivered impairment charge within 5% of budget for the past 3 years
  • Member of Risk Exco and Absa Vehicle and Asset Finance Exco
  • Report to Chief Risk Officer, Barclays Africa Retail Bank.

Head

Standard Bank Johannesburg
01.2011 - 01.2013
  • Credit Portfolio Management, Commercial Vehicle and Asset Finance
  • Head of Credit Portfolio Management for the R30bn Commercial Vehicle and Asset Finance) portfolio (R30bn)
  • Responsible for the credit strategy across the credit lifecycle (origination, account management, recoveries) of the portfolios and optimisation of credit performance / impairments
  • Key achievements include: design of risk-based pricing model for VAF, design of optimal rehabilitation and recovery strategies, including sale of post-write off debt; development of stress contingency framework; refinement of impairment forecast model / framework; competitive review of provision adequacy; refinement of scored lending strategy to increase sales; risk appetite framework for VAF; various policy papers to improve credit management across the portfolios
  • Report to Head of Credit Portfolio for Standard Bank Business Bank Credit.

Senior Manager

Standard Bank
Johannesburg
01.2010 - 01.2011
  • Corporate Development, CIB
  • Evaluation of strategic and corporate finance opportunities for Standard Bank retail joint-venture companies, SA Home Loans (an independent home loan originator and financier) and RCS (an independent retail consumer finance business)
  • Project included detailed valuations of the companies and the review of strategic options in the context of current shareholder agreements
  • Responsible for debt sale of over R3bn of impaired debt
  • Process included identification of potential buyers, design of a suitable auction sales process and the review and execution of sale and purchase agreements
  • Sales proceeds exceeded target price by 75%
  • New sale in progress
  • Provided strategic and corporate finance advice on Liberty / Standard Bank bancassurance re-negotiation to expand R10bn opportunity across new products, channels and geographies
  • Responsibilities included review of deal structure alternatives, JSE submissions, preparation of Board and Exco presentations, and review of deal economics / profit share and legal agreements
  • Evaluation of financial services acquisition opportunity in Uganda and Kenya, including preparation of detailed valuation and business case, and the analysis of deal structures including capital, tax and accounting considerations
  • Deal pending
  • Restructure of the Standard Bank private equity portfolio, following decision to wind-down the portfolio and curtail future PE investments
  • Deal included independent valuation of portfolio, investigation of exit opportunities, negotiation of outsourced management agreement for the Brazilian asset and an appropriate fee and carry scheme for the SB private equity team, and the sale of the Brazilian asset to the local banking operation
  • Evaluation of opportunity to purchase R10bn Edcon Credit and Financial services business
  • Secretary for the CIB Equity Investment Committee
  • Report to Head of Corporate Development

Principal

Barclays Africa
Johannesburg
01.2009 - 01.2009
  • Business Recovery, Absa Corporate and Business Bank
  • Responsible for the remediation of medium and large corporate clients in distress
  • Clients include a distributor of high-end mobile phone products, a producer of steel and aluminium storage and transportation tankers and a pan- African micro-finance operator
  • Remediation includes analysis of financial position, security and other liabilities, the commissioning of independent business reviews and extensive negotiations with clients and creditors to agree on a restructuring and remediation strategy.

Principal

Barclays Africa
Johannesburg
01.2007 - 01.2009
  • Corporate Development
  • Represented Absa on a number of deals including:
  • Restructure of Virgin Money joint-venture: role included valuation of the business, appraisal of strategic options, negotiation of a settlement agreement, interface with tax, legal and accounting professionals and preparation of governance documents
  • Negotiation resulted in savings of R45m over default position, with potential upside during the settlement period
  • Divestment and restructure of R6bn home-loans joint venture, including R4bn securitisation structure
  • Negotiation resulted in R100m gain for Absa relative to the starting position
  • Divestment of internet-based property origination joint-venture: role included valuation of the business, negotiation of the termination agreement and interface with tax and legal professionals
  • Negotiation delivered upside of R20m for Absa relative to position in joint-venture
  • Prepared bid for a leading R6bn short-term life insurance company offered through an auction process: role included project management and integration of work-streams, valuation of the business, preparation of governance documents
  • Evaluation of the opportunity to purchase a leading stockbroking firm in South Africa: role included valuation of the business, and preparation of strategic investment proposal
  • Acquisition of a specialist marine underwriter: role included legal, valuation and negotiation support (cancelled)
  • Divestment of Absa's shareholding in Mastercard (R250m)
  • Responsible for the vetting of all equity investment submissions to the Group Investment Committee (GIC) - the committee sits weekly and approves all equity investments > R50m in Absa
  • Investments cover a broad range of projects, including private equity investments, property investments, joint-ventures and other strategic and operational investments
  • Secretary for GIC meetings.

Principal

Barclays Africa
Johannesburg
01.2007 - 01.2008
  • Strategy & Planning - Office of the CEO
  • Absa Capital is the investment bank of Absa Group
  • The business leverages off the structure, products and expertise of Barclays Capital, a leading global investment bank
  • Provide primary support to the CEO of Absa Capital
  • Activities included preparation of board and analyst presentations; preparation of speeches and public presentations and alignment of business strategy across the investment bank
  • Provide assistance to other senior executives (COO, Vice-Chairman) on strategic presentations and thought pieces
  • Run various strategy projects as part of the Strategy and Planning team, including the development of a business plan for Infrastructure Equity Investments and a report on the Absa Capital credit portfolio, including recommendations on future growth and positioning.

Head

Capital One / Nedbank Johannesburg
01.2004 - 01.2007
  • Of Consumer Strategy and Business Development, Nedbank Card Division
  • Responsible for all co-brand deals at Nedbank Card (Visa, MasterCard and American Express)
  • Recent co-brand successes include the launch of the SAA airlines Voyager credit card (2006) and the Pro-Shop gold credit card (2007)
  • Responsibilities in the co-brand space include the preparation of tender documents, client presentations, financial modelling to determine the deal price and business case, contract negotiations, the preparation of legal documents and liaison with American Express and the Card Associations (Visa, MC)
  • Other co-brand engagements include discussions with Virgin Money, Woolworths, BMW, Cell-C, Sun International, Medscheme and Kulula
  • Led other product development initiatives, including the development of a new Credit Life insurance product (profits 2.5x original) and the development of the Nedbank Greenbacks reward programme, which delivers enhanced customer value, cost savings of 20% and a scalable architecture that can accommodate other retail products to create significant value for the bank
  • Played a leading role in other strategic initiatives, including the development of a merchant pricing strategy; the development of NPV models for various card products; the development of a x-sell sales channel initiative with homeloans and the preparation of division's submission to the Competition Commission Banking enquiry (2006).

Manager

Visa International
London
01.2002 - 01.2003
  • Interchange and Strategy
  • Visa is the global card payment association who business is to promote and facilitate card and electronic payment transactions globally
  • Developed interchange policy for the CEMEA (Central Europe, Middle East & Africa) region
  • Led product development projects for Visa Bill Payment, Mobile Top-Up, Peer-to-Peer and Cashback products
  • Produced market development strategies for Egypt, Morocco and Poland with the objective of increasing Visa card issuance and usage in these countries
  • Led £1m project to harmonise chip and e-commerce interchange rates across the region with the objective of speeding up adoption of new payment technologies
  • Led audits of member banks in Germany, Greece and Holland as part of EU interchange compliance directive
  • Worked on a long-term strategy to combat the threat of increased regulatory action on interchange across the region.

Strategy Consultant

Netdecisions, Internet
London
01.2000 - 01.2001
  • Business Strategy Definition Team
  • Netdecisions is an internet start-up company formed in 1998, with a focus on promoting the benefits of the internet in FTSE-100 companies
  • Developed business plans to leverage e-commerce technologies for FTSE 100 companies
  • Clients included Land Securities (property), Marconi (Telecoms), Thomson Travel (travel) and Alliance Unichem (pharmaceuticals)
  • Worked closely with client's senior executives to develop the business plan and secure future technology sales for the company
  • Managed teams of analysts on a number of strategy projects.

Analyst

UBS
London
01.1999 - 01.2000
  • Corporate Finance Telecoms and Technology Team, Investment Bank
  • Preparation of M&A and IPO pitches for leading Telecom and Technology companies, including Vodafone, Orange, Chello Broadband and Telkom South Africa
  • Valuation of companies using DCF and other methods, including risk and sensitivity analysis and financial forecasting
  • Completed graduate training program, which included modules in financial modelling, accounting and valuation techniques.

Consultant

NMG Risk Managers & Actuaries Singapore
01.1995 - 01.1996
  • Actuarial and Employee Benefits Consulting
  • Priced life and health insurance products using actuarial tools
  • Led project to design and build an insurance software management system.

Education

MSc - Economics

London School of Economics
1999

MSc - Philosophy and History of Science

London School of Economics
1997

Bachelor of Business Science - Computer Science

University of Cape Town
01.1990 - 12.1995

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King David Victory Park
1989

Skills

Business Strategy, Credit Risk, Business Development, M&A, Product Design

Interests

. Prior experience includes 20+ , years in banking in senior roles across product (card & vehicle finance), risk (vehicle finance & investment banking) and corporate finance. Worked at UBS, Visa, Capital One, Nedbank, Standard Bank and Barclays Africa in the UK and South Africa. Keen tennis player, reader, traveller, and family man. UK and SA citizen with Australian permanent residence. Enjoy tennis, cycling, swimming, mountain biking, reading and family time GMAT score: 710 - Top 5% of test takers

Additional Information

  • AWARDS , Computer Science Merit Award 1993 Nedbank Top Achiever Award Nominee 2006 Absa Prestige Merit Award 2008
  • 1 1

Languages

English
Native

Timeline

CEO & Founder

Payflex
01.2018 - Current

Chief Analytics Officer

Barclays Africa
02.2017 - 07.2019

Head

Barclays Africa
01.2016 - 05.2016

Chief Risk Officer

Barclays Africa
03.2013 - 04.2016

Head

Standard Bank Johannesburg
01.2011 - 01.2013

Senior Manager

Standard Bank
01.2010 - 01.2011

Principal

Barclays Africa
01.2009 - 01.2009

Principal

Barclays Africa
01.2007 - 01.2009

Principal

Barclays Africa
01.2007 - 01.2008

Head

Capital One / Nedbank Johannesburg
01.2004 - 01.2007

Manager

Visa International
01.2002 - 01.2003

Strategy Consultant

Netdecisions, Internet
01.2000 - 01.2001

Analyst

UBS
01.1999 - 01.2000

Consultant

NMG Risk Managers & Actuaries Singapore
01.1995 - 01.1996

Bachelor of Business Science - Computer Science

University of Cape Town
01.1990 - 12.1995

MSc - Economics

London School of Economics

MSc - Philosophy and History of Science

London School of Economics

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King David Victory Park

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PAUL BEHRMANN