Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo has resigned as the chair of the board of directors of State-owned asset manager the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), he said on Thursday.

The asset manager faces mounting scrutiny after its CE was suspended pending an investigation into allegations raised by a whistleblower. South Africa's financial regulator has also launched a governance probe.

"After careful reflection, I have decided to resign as chairperson of the board of the PIC," Masondo said in a statement.

The asset manager is one of Africa's largest, overseeing more than R3-trillion of funds.

Its biggest client is South Africa's Government Employees Pension Fund, and it is the largest investor on the JSE.

The PIC has faced governance challenges for more than a decade, and many of the issues now confronting the institution echo findings of a judicial inquiry, which in 2020 identified weaknesses in oversight, accountability and investment decision-making.