A former Standard Bank financial planner has been permanently barred from working in the financial sector after using client relationships to borrow more than R28,000.
Thapelo Jan Baloyi was hired as an independent contractor in October 2022, operating from the bank’s Secunda branch in Mpumalanga. But in July 2024, a client reported him to the bank’s forensic unit after he contacted her via phone and WhatsApp, asking to borrow R1,000. He even sent her his personal bank account details. Although the client didn’t transfer the money, she immediately became concerned about the safety of her investment account with the bank.
When confronted, Baloyi claimed the messages were sent to the wrong person and quickly deleted them. But this was only the tip of the iceberg.
Investigators soon discovered more troubling behavior. Between April and June 2024, Baloyi had asked two other clients for money—R2,500 from one, and R1,000 from another. Most notably, he received R25,000 from a client in December 2023, promising to repay it with R5,000 interest within six months. He never paid it back.
Things worsened when another client handed over R17,000 in July 2024 after Baloyi allegedly promised to help her daughter get a job at the bank. The daughter never got the job, and the money was not refunded.
He was also running a private consulting business on the side and failed to return a company laptop, which he claimed was lost in KwaZulu-Natal. He promised to report the loss to the police but never provided a case number.
Following these revelations, Standard Bank terminated his contract in August 2024 and gave him an opportunity to explain himself before being officially disbarred. Despite being granted an extension, Baloyi missed deadlines and only submitted a response after claiming he was sick.
In his defense, Baloyi denied borrowing money from clients, saying he was simply charging upfront for services. He also denied taking money for job placements and insisted that any discussions about employment were conditional on meeting recruitment requirements.
Still, the Financial Services Tribunal (FST) wasn’t convinced. After reviewing the evidence, the FST concluded that Baloyi abused his position of trust, using his access to client information for personal gain.
“The applicant took advantage of clients and abused the privilege of access to confidential financial information,” the tribunal said. “He solicited money without repaying it, benefitting himself at their expense.”
The FST also noted that Baloyi showed no remorse and failed to explain why multiple clients would make similar allegations if they weren’t true.
In the end, the tribunal upheld the bank’s decision, declaring that Baloyi no longer met the industry’s standards of honesty and integrity.
His appeal was dismissed.