Letter of Appreciation

Dear Management of Standard Bank (Tyger Manor),

I trust this email finds you well.

I herewith want to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude at the exceptional manner in which Lauren Solomon at Tyger Manor Branch handled my entire Home loan application with Standard Bank.

In the beginning of April 2022, I embarked on this journey of becoming a first time homeowner. I reached out to Lauren and to this day, I'm extremely grateful for such an exceptional soul! She basically held my hand through the entire process:

The following events took place:

1) I reached out to Lauren, she reviewed my account, I had a normal Elite Cheque Account at the time, and she upgraded my account to Private Banking. 2) She then went through my Statement, checked whether I had the necessary products, services and checked where I could possibly save. For instance, she saw I paid a lot for my car insurance and requested a quote for my Vehicle Insurance and I changed from Discovery to Standard Bank :) 3) After she went through my entire profile and made the necessary changes, I then started my search for the perfect property. 4) I then went for a few viewings and eventually I found the perfect property, or that's what I thought at the time. I reached out to Lauren and she guided me through the entire process. From viewing tips, negotiating the asking price, asking the right questions, to submitting my offer. 5) With my first offer I submitted, my offer fell through the cracks as I was the second purchaser and on the last day of my notice period, the first purchaser got finance. I felt so discouraged and wanted to give up. But with Lauren's advice and helping hand, I got over this minor obstacle. To this day, I remember her words: "Jacques, when buying property, don't get emotionally involved". 6) So the search continued and eventually I got another property, my current home. This property came with several obstacles: - Firstly, it was way over my initial budget. - Secondly, I didn't qualify for 100% finance - So my agent requested my documents and app**** for finance on my behalf. FNB was the only bank who granted me a 100% HL. - As a loyal client and my blood being blue, for all these years, I reached out to Lauren and forwarded FNB's bond approval. Lauren immediately took charge of the situation. She immediately raised the query regarding my bond application with credit. - She knew that I had very little debt and that my current profession and financial capability would allow me to get the bond approval from Standard Bank. - Even though this whole process was frustrating and I had become impatient and discouraged, she managed to keep me calm and reassured me that all will be well. She answered each and every call, she rep**** to each and every email and message I forwarded. She truly went above and beyond. To this day I'm grateful and I am in awe at the excellent customer service I received from Lauren. - Eventually, credit matched FNB's bond approval and my bond application was approved. - This entire journey reminded me of your slogan: “It Can Be" – a promise of hope, change and optimism, and indeed it was or still is... - Today I am extremely happy and most blessed in my new home! My new property is a lot bigger and must I say better than the one I lost. Everything happened as it was supposed to and everything worked out for the best.

Thank you Lauren Solomon for being the best banker ever and personalising my experience! I hope your constant hard work and exceptional customer service is being recognised. Wishing you all the best and may you just excel in whatever you take on next!

Kind regards, Jacques Oppel ***