Standard Bank taking big strides in Africa
Focus on the continent is paying off, but a turn to local customer experience is vital ahead of launch of Discovery’s bank
Standard Bank, led by joint CEs Sim Tshabalala and Ben Kruger, looks in good shape. After years of underperformance relative to peers, it finally appears to be “moving forward”. Since 2010, the company has retreated from global emerging markets, electing instead to focus on Africa. The strategy appears to be paying off. For the year to December 2016, headline earnings from the group’s banking activities rose 9% on double-digit earnings growth from its two largest divisions — personal & business banking (PBB) and corporate & investment banking. On a constant currency basis, Standard Bank’s rest-of-Africa region increased headline earnings 7% to R5.7bn. “Though relatively small, the 66% growth in PBB in Africa is very encouraging for the longer-term growth prospects of the group,” says Andrew Vintcent, a portfolio manager at ClucasGray Asset Management. Since 2010, the bank has tripled revenue from Africa regions to R30bn, with earnings from the rest of the continent now contributing ...
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