JOHANNESBURG, Aug 13 – Standard Bank Group, Africa’s biggest bank by assets, reported a 10% increase in headline earnings for the six months ended June 30, supported by stronger fee and trading income and a decline in credit impairment charges.
Headline earnings grew 10% to 26.1 billion rand ($1.62 billion) in the six months through June, buoyed by fee growth and higher trading revenue that offset a slowdown in interest income, the Johannesburg-based lender said in a statement on Thursday. It declared an interim dividend of 9.02 rand per share, the highest on record.
Net interest income from its banking operations increased 4% to 53.6 billion rand, supported by continued transaction activity in its Corporate and Investment Banking division and modest loan growth across its business and personal banking operations.
The bank’s net interest margin, however, narrowed to 472 basis points from 489 basis points previously. Standard Bank attributed the decline to a lower interest-rate environment and competitive pricing pressures across parts of its retail and business portfolios.
Non-interest revenue provided additional support to earnings. Net fee and commission income increased 7% to 18.4 billion rand, driven by stronger corporate debt-financing activity, higher transaction volumes among business and personal banking customers, and increased client activity.
Trading revenue also increased, rising 8% during the period.
At the same time, credit impairment charges declined 12% to 7.1 billion rand, reflecting improved credit performance across the bank’s loan portfolio. The group’s credit loss ratio, which measures credit losses relative to total lending, consequently improved to 73 basis points from 93 basis points in 2025.
The improvement in credit quality provided additional support to the bank’s earnings as it navigated a lower interest-rate environment and pricing pressure in some lending segments.
Standard Bank also declared an interim dividend of 902 cents per share, representing a 10% increase from the previous period.
The results point to a broader shift in the bank’s earnings mix, with fee-generating activities, corporate financing and trading providing stronger contributions as interest margins come under pressure. Continued loan growth and the quality of the group’s credit portfolio will remain important factors for earnings performance in the second half of the year.
