Shoprite Fined for Reckless Lending as Regulator Toughens Up
An employee restocks shelves ata Shoprite supermarket in Johannesburg.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Shoprite Holdings Ltd. has been found guilty of reckless lending after a South African regulator ruled that the continent’s largest supermarket chain hasn’t been properly assessing shoppers before extending credit.
The retailer was fined 1 million rand ($77,425), the National Credit Regulator said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Among other discrepancies, the Cape Town-based company took into account incomes from other people, such as spouses, when judging the ability of a borrower to repay loans, it said.