Sanlam's Kooyman buys UK banks as LIBOR scandal hits shares

Sanlam's Kokkie Kooyman has been capitalising on the plunge in bank shares caused by the LIBOR scandal, buying into Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays.

The manager of the $252m Global Financial fund said he had been eyeing Lloyds, RBS and Barclays, in that order of preference. As a result, when Barclays shares plummeted as much as 15% in a day, while RBS fell 11% and Lloyds dropped 4%, he saw a buying opportunity. “We were waiting for Lloyds, RBS and Barclays, so when the price fell, we moved very quickly,” he said. “Where the UK is different to Europe is the banks have been recapitalised and their exposure to sovereign bonds is fairly low. I had a long meeting with the head of group treasury of Lloyds, and you can see they have real...