South Africa’s (SA) Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest lender by assets, reported an 11% rise in annual headline earnings on Thursday, supported by strong growth in fee and trading income and lower credit impairment charges across its banking businesses.
The SA-based bank said headline earnings rose to $2.97 billion in the year ended December 31, 2025.
In its banking operations, net interest income grew by 4%, helped by a larger average balance sheet, the lender said.
Net fee and commission revenue rose 11%, while trading revenue grew 10% on the back of heightened market volatility that boosted client activity and market-making opportunities.
Credit impairment charges declined by 5%, with the retail and business portfolios benefiting from an improved macroeconomic environment, enhanced collection strategies and earlier intervention strategies on struggling clients.
However, impairment charges in the corporate portfolio and financial investments rose, with increases in financial investments driven by deteriorating sovereign credit risk in the South and Central Africa region, primarily Mozambique.
The group’s credit loss ratio – a measure of bad loans against total loans, improved to 73 basis points from 83 basis points in 2024.
–Reuters–
