The Standard Bank Group, the parent company of South Africa’s largest bank by asset, Standard Bank, has reported an increase of R44.5 billion ($2.4 billion) in headline earnings in 2024, representing a 4% increase from the recorded R42.9 billion ($2.3 billion) in 2023.
This was revealed in the group’s financial results for 2024, published on the Johannesburg stock exchange on Thursday. The group also reported a 2% increase in its total net income which amounted to R181.73 billion ($9.8 billion) from R177.6 billion ($9.6 billion) recorded in 2024.
All of these improvements came despite cases of high inflation, increased interest rates, and weakened currencies, especially in West Africa’s Angola and Nigeria, where it has branches.
Active bank customers across its branches in Sub-Saharan Africa increased by 4% to 20 million, largely driven by a 6% growth in South Africa’s digitally inclined clients.
This increased customer patronage led to a 6% increase in deposits to R2.2 trillion. Loans and advances also grew by 2%.
Despite issues around the dwindling value of local currencies, the African region’s earnings in local currency increased to 22%, enabling them to contribute 41% to the group’s total headline earnings.
The value of the total dividend per ordinary share declared by the group in 2024 increased by 6% to 1507 from 1423 declared in 2025.
With these achievements, the bank is hopeful to achieve its lending target of more than 250 billion ($13.72 billion) by the end of 2026. It has cumulatively mobilized more than R177 billion ($9.6 billion) in sustainable finance since 2022, with R74 billion ($4 billion) added in 2024 alone.
Expectations for 2025 and beyond
For 2025, the group hopes to consolidate its achievements and continue on track to deliver on its targets, which it committed to in August 2021. As such, the group is focused on growing its banks’ revenue in mid-to-high digits in Rand and ensuring that its ROE remains within 17% to 20%.
The group is also committed to ensuring that its revenue growth is slightly higher than operating costs to achieve a magical decline in the cost-to-income ratio on a Year-on-Year basis.
For its 2026-2028 commitments, the group’s mid-term targets include ensuring its headline earnings per capital growth reaches 8% to 12% and that its ROE reaches 18% to 22%.
While the group’s records show a strong financial standing and a promising opportunity for growth, a lot more can be achieved with the improvement of the economic situations prevalent in the African region where the group operates.
This will bring about an increase in the group’s ROE, customer base, and deposits, and most importantly, improve its lending capacity.
