RMB advisor for SA Bank

Mixed denomination rand currency banknotes are arranged for a photograph at a First National Bank (FNB) branch in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, March 15, 2013. A recovery in mining and manufacturing is giving South Africa's rand and bonds a breather amid concern that growth is slowing while inflation accelerates. Photographer: Nadine Hutton/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The biggest lender to South African farmers appointed Rand Merchant Bank as financial adviser after it missed a loan repayment that triggered a cross default on a R50 billion bond program, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Johannesburg-based investment bank has been tasked with coming up with cash-flow projections for the Land and Agricultural Development Bank, the people said, asking not to be identified as an announcement hasn’t been made.

RMB — a unit of FirstRand Ltd., Africa’s largest lender by market value – must also deliver a strategic plan for the state-owned company and assess its viability, they said. The 108-year-old bank, which supplies about 30 percent of loans in the agricultural industry, last month failed to make repayments on a revolving credit facility, triggering the default event on its bonds. — fin24.com