Almost a decade since the collapse of US banking group Lehman Brothers, which triggered the financial crisis that pushed most of the world's banks to the brink, South Africa's big four again face economic headwinds. The US subprime mortgage crisis that would infect the global economy began in 2007, marked by the collapse of two Bear Stearns hedge funds. A year later, Lehman filed for the biggest bankruptcy in US history. Compared with their global counterparts, South African banks weathered the storm; profits shrank but none declared losses. But as things look up for the global economy, South Africa's fragile economic and consumer outlook has pushed the industry's earnings to levels not seen since 2009. Together, the big four - Standard Bank, FirstRand, Nedbank and Barclays Africa - reported headline earnings growth of 5.7% in the first half of this year, according to financial services firm EY. Returns on equity Despite this, returns on equity had held remarkably well, said EY's fi...
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