Standard Bank |

Standard Bank Denied Access to Rand-Rigging Investigation Record

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s Competition Tribunal declined Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s request for the early release of the investigators’ report into the lender’s alleged part in currency manipulation. The tribunal, which rules on antitrust matters like a court, won’t “order the immediate production of the record, as Standard Bank was not yet entitled to it,” the Pretoria-based antitrust body said in an emailed statement on Monday. While the earlier production of the investigation…

Standard Bank Group Names Tshabalala First Sole Black CEO

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Standard Bank Group Limited appointed Sim Tshabalala as sole chief executive officer, ending a dual role he shared with Ben Kruger, and making him the first black person to lead Africa’s largest lender independently. Kruger, 58, will step down as joint-CEO immediately and continue as an executive director, reporting to Tshabalala, 49, Johannesburg-based Standard Bank said in a statement on Tuesday. The joint leadership structure was necessary as part of the company’s management succession…

Standard Bank’s First-Half Profit Rises 14% as Impairments Drop

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s largest lender by assets, said first-half profit rose 14 percent after impairments dropped and costs were contained. Net income climbed to 12.3 billion rand ($937 million) from 10.8 billion rand a year earlier, the Johannesburg-based lender said in a statement on Thursday. Earnings per share excluding one-time items, known locally as headline earnings, advanced 11 percent to 7.56 rand beating the 7.44 rand median estimate of…

Standard Bank Tightens Grip on Liberty After Row With CEO

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – History is repeating itself at the insurer controlled by Africa’s largest bank by assets. Standard Bank Group Limited on Tuesday announced that its head of investment banking will take over as chief executive officer of Liberty Holdings Limited in an effort to end the drag that the Johannesburg-based insurer is having on profit. The deployment of David Munro to the post comes after the abrupt departure of Thabo Dloti following a bust-up with his…

FX reserves – China has enough, Says Standard Bank

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – China’s foreign exchange reserves are now below USD3tr, the lowest in three years. In fact, relative to GDP, this is the lowest since the early 2000s. China has seen a material decline in reserves-to-GDP since 2008 resulting from declining global demand combined with growing outbound investment. More recently, the sharp decline in China’s once heralded reserves has come with the defence of the renminbi, triggering concerns in global financial…

South Africa’s Standard Bank H1 profit rises 27 percent

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Capital Markets in Africa) – Africa’s biggest lender by assets, Standard Bank, on Friday released our interim results for 2015. The Bank delivered solid growth in Africa during the first half of the year despite economic challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa. The Standard Bank Group headline earnings increased by 27% to R10 529 million and headline earnings per share (HEPS) increased by 27% to 651 cents. Results highlights for the six months to 30 June 2015:…