Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets, reported a 10% increase in adjusted net income for the first half of the year, driven by sustained growth in fee and trading revenues while credit impairment charges declined.
The South African lender said adjusted net income rose to $1.62 billion for the six months ended 30 June, compared with the same period a year earlier.
Within its banking operations, net interest income grew 4% to $3.32 billion, supported by healthy deal flow in the Corporate and Investment Banking unit and moderate loan growth across its business and personal banking divisions.
The net interest margin narrowed to 472 basis points from 489 basis points previously, reflecting a lower interest rate environment and competitive pricing pressures across certain retail and business client portfolios, the bank said.
Net fee and commission income increased 7% to $1.14 billion, underpinned by strong debt financing activity in corporate banking, higher transaction volumes in business and personal banking, and growth in client activity. Trading revenue rose 8%.
Credit impairment charges fell 12% to $440 million, reflecting improved credit performance across the portfolio. As a result, the group’s credit loss ratio — a measure of bad debt relative to total loans — improved to 73 basis points from 93 basis points in 2025.
The bank declared an interim dividend of 902 cents per share, an increase of 10% on the prior period.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=530306
