It says ANC Youth League president Julius Malema's repeated calls for nationalisation are "worrying". Sandisiwe Gugushe, spokesman for the Banking Association of South Africa, said it would continue to debate nationalisation with the ANC, the youth league and the government.
"The ANC Youth League's calls to nationalise banks are worrying, particularly in the context of a fragile international financial sector," he said. "While we agree that the challenges of unemployment and poverty are serious and need addressing, we do not think nationalisation is the answer."
Steven Koseff, chief executive of banking and investment group Investec, said the government should not consider nationalisation as it would add to unemployment woes. "For the government to nationalise the private sector would be bad policy. I don't think this would be a solution to our problems," he said.
The government should, instead, focus on long-term skills development and flexible labour policies to make it easier for international companies to invest in South Africa. "You cannot close off the economy to the global market as you are just going to become a basket case," Koseff said.
He hoped the Protection of Information Bill would not put a lid on the media, he said. Mark Cutifani, chief executive of mining giant AngloGold Ashanti, said that, contrary to what Malema promised, nationalisation of mines would not improve the lives of the youth.
He said the mining industry generated R424-billion in revenue last year and spent R441-billion, reflecting operating costs and investment (R49-billion) in new projects and new jobs.
Cutifani said 93% of the costs in operations were spent on wages and on procuring goods and services. Only the remaining 7% was split between the taxman and shareholders. Commenting on the Protection of Information Bill, Cutifani said he was glad to see a "rethink" by the ANC.
However, freedom came with responsibility: "Removing freedom to deal with a very small group that doesn't manage their words [telling the truth] with responsibility is not the answer," he said. Mike Brown, chief executive of Nedbank, said history had proved the nationalisation debate had a "negative effect on investment in a country and South Africa is no different".
He said: "The government has reiterated that nationalisation is not its policy. "The South African banking system showed its robustness during the recent financial crisis and any moves to nationalise banks will halt inward investment and resultant growth."