Nov 27, 2023

Standard Bank Backs 2023 Guidance November 27, 2023 at 03:05 am EST Share By Elena Vardon Standard Bank Group confirmed its 2023 guidance after reporting revenue growth for the first 10 months of the year. The South African bank expects on-year banking revenue growth to be robust with elevated cost growth, it said on Monday. It added that it expects to deliver strong positive jaws as revenue is growing faster than costs. For the 10 months ended Oct. 31, the group said banking revenue growth slowed but was still above 20% on the comparable period the previous year, driven by both net interest and non-interest income. Costs growth for the period was high but slower than the 16% it reported in the first-half, it added. "Lower demand, reduced affordability, and competitive pricing pressure (particularly in mortgages in South Africa), resulted in lower disbursements to retail and business clients and a slowdown in growth in the related loan portfolios," it said. The lender sees credit impairment charge growth moderating for the second half and its credit loss ratio for the year to stay within--but above the mid-point--of its through-the-cycle target range of 70 basis points to 100 basis points. Return on equity is seen within its 2025 target range of 17% to 20%, it added. It said that its Africa regions unit contributed 44% to group headline earnings for the first 10 months of the year. Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires