Standard Bank Group has reported headline earnings of R49.2bn for the year ended 31 December 2025, up 11% from R44.5bn the previous year, with headline earnings per share rising 12% to 3,026 cents — completing every financial target the group set for itself in 2021 and delivering a return on equity of 19.3%, at the top end of its 2025 target range of 17% to 20%. Attributable profit came in 12% higher at R49.1bn, and a final dividend of 878 cents per share was declared, lifting the total annual dividend 12% to 1,695 cents.
The banking operations were driven by net interest income growth of 4%, supported by a larger average balance sheet, while net fee and commission revenue rose 11% and 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 on struggling clients. The cost-to-income ratio improved to 50.2%, completing a journey from 59.1% in 2020 when the current strategy was first conceived.
The 2025 targets, laid out in August 2021, were designed to transform Standard Bank from a traditional financial institution into a digital platform business, targeting revenue growth, cost efficiency and a materially higher return on equity at a time when the group’s ROE stood at just 8.9% and its cost-to-income ratio was among the highest of its peer group. The completion of those targets in full — across every metric — marks the end of one strategic cycle and the beginning of another. The group has now set a new three-year framework targeting headline earnings per share compound annual growth of 8% to 12% and a return on equity range of 18% to 22% by 2028.
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As reported by CNBC Africa, the group’s active client base grew to 19.6 million across the year, with South Africa contributing 51% of group headline earnings at R24.9bn. Africa Regions contributed 40% at R19.7bn, with Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia identified as the key contributors. Offshore businesses added R3.1bn and the group’s 40% stake in ICBC Standard Bank contributed a further R1.5bn. In South Africa, targeted initiatives to grow digital retail clients produced a 9% increase in digital client numbers and a 5% rise in digital transactional volumes, with 67% of clients now transacting digitally.
The Africa Regions result is the most strategically significant component of the performance. Standard Bank has been building a pan-African franchise for decades, and the R19.7bn contribution from outside South Africa demonstrates that the investment has matured into a genuine earnings engine rather than a development-stage bet. The group has simultaneously been growing its Insurance and Asset Management division, which delivered improved earnings and returns over the period, diversifying income away from pure banking spread.
Looking ahead, the group guided for mid-to-high single-digit banking revenue growth in 2026, a slightly declining cost-to-income ratio and a credit loss ratio that is expected to rise modestly but remain within the lower half of its through-the-cycle target band of 70 to 100 basis points. The group also flagged that geopolitical developments in the Middle East introduce uncertainty into the outlook, alongside intensifying competition from fintechs, evolving regulatory dynamics and the accelerating role of artificial intelligence across financial services.
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