BNP Paribas’ personal finance arm will buy the consumer loans business of South Africa-based JD Group. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed. BNP’s South African RCS unit will acquire JD’s current loan book, with the assets guaranteed by JD parent Steinhoff, the French bank said in a statement. RCS, which has about 1,300 employees, will double in size after the acquisition, due to take effect in April 2015. JD Group had said in September it planned to sell the finance arm to reduce its exposure to consumer debt in Africa’s most developed economy.
