If the chief executives of various international banks are seen landing in South Africa in the next two weeks, be aware: it might be a passion for deals and not just for football that has lured them over.

Michael Geoghegan, Ceo of HSBC, has already been seen in Johannesburg this week – he did not even wait for the World Cup to start. His fondness for emerging markets is well-known and he has walked the walk, relocating from London to Hong Kong this year. Rumour has it he is also optimistic about Africa and wants Hsbc to expand its relatively small presence in the continent. The bank has 5 offices in South Africa compared to 79 in Egypt or 181 in Argentina.

The quickest way to grow is by acquisition and various possible targets have been mentioned, from the very big, like FirstRand, SA’s third-largest bank or number four Nedbank, to the very small, like Capitec, a Stellenbosch-based bank that has been growing fast.

Standard Chartered, the other emerging market giant, has already come forward as the leading contender to take over insurer Old Mutual’s majority stake in Nedbank, worth around $5bn. Negotiations are ongoing and there is no certainty of a deal, but StanChart is known to be keen to clinch one after losing the battle for Absa to Barclays five years ago. Ceo Peter Sands has said he wants a bigger presence in South Africa, seen as the gateway to a fast-growing continent, and acquiring Nedbank would instantly double the 5% share of earnings StanChart currently derives from Africa.

Many takeovers result in redundancies, but a StanChart/Nedbank deal would be positive for recruitment because there is hardly any overlap between the two banks, experts say. “StanChart do not have a significant operation in SA and Nedbank have little in Africa, so the fit is perfect and there is very little crossover,” says Anton Apps, Ceo eof Anton Apps International Recruitment Specialists in Johannesburg. “It would be a good deal.”

Whatever success HSBC or StanChart find in their quest, “we have only seen the beginning of the pan-African expansion,” says Phryne Williams, director of Capital Assignments, a financial services recruitment firm. “It is likely to boom. Aside from the banks we know about, there are other international players looking to enter the market and set up shop.”