JOHANNESBERG, Mar 12 – South Africa’s largest lender by assets, Standard Bank Group, reported 11% increase in annual headline earnings for the year ended December 31, supported by stronger fee income, improved trading revenue and lower credit impairment charges.
The Johannesburg based bank said headline earnings rose to 49.2 billion rand ($2.97 billion) compared with 44.5 billion rand recorded in the previous year.
The growth reflects stronger performance across several parts of the bank’s operations as income from client transactions and market activities increased during the period. At the same time, the lender recorded a decline in credit impairment charges, which helped support overall profitability.
Following the results, the bank declared a final dividend of 878 cents per share for shareholders.
Standard Bank’s latest results add to a series of earnings announcements from major South African financial institutions reporting their financial performance for the year.
