Standard Bank passes with flying colours

Standard Bank has produced a record financial performance for the 2025 financial year, with it surpassing its SBG 2025 targets laid out in 2020. 

The bank’s headline earnings surged by 11% to R49.2 billion on the back of strong growth in total net income, which totalled R194.76 billion. 

This also came with the highest return on equity for the bank under the current set of regulations, with it reaching 19.3%. 

On all metrics, the bank exceeded its SBG 2025 targets, which were laid out in August 2021 to revive Standard Bank’s momentum post-pandemic and transform the business from a traditional financial institution into a digital platform business. 

At the time these targets were created, the bank faced relatively flat revenue growth, a high cost-to-income ratio of 59.1% and a low return on equity of 8.9%. 

The bank sought to improve its efficiency through the SBG 2025 strategy, adapt to digital competition, and ensure it captured value from the growth of African economies. 

It appears to have done so successfully, with Standard Bank’s revenue compounding at an annual rate of 11% since 2020 and its cost-to-income declining to 50.2%. 

As a result of this growth being coupled with increased operating leverage from expenses growth being kept in check, the bank’s return on equity has soared to 19.3% at the end of 2025. 

Crucially, this has been profitable for shareholders, with headline earnings growing at a compound annual rate of 25% for the past five years and the bank’s dividend per share surging by a rate of 48% annually.

“2025 marked a significant milestone as we achieved or surpassed the ambitious financial targets we set in 2021, validating our strategy and confirming our capacity for disciplined execution,” CEO Sim Tshabalala said. 

“Put simply, we keep our promises, and we meet our targets.”  

“Headline earnings per share grew by 12%, and return on equity improved to 19.3%, underpinned by the group’s diversified and growing franchise.”

In the 2025 financial year, the bank’s active client base grew to 19.6 million, with a particularly strong performance in South Africa on the back of targeted initiatives to grow its digital retail clients. 

Standard Bank has been one of the few South African companies to expand profitably into Africa, something Tshabalala attributes to the bank’s ability to take a long-term view. 

Standard Bank’s South African franchises delivered earnings of R24.9 billion, with the African franchise contributing R19.7 billion. 

The bank’s individual business units continue to perform strongly apart from its business banking division, which is undergoing a significant overhaul –

• Corporate and Investment Banking saw headline earnings increase by 18% and an ROE of over 22%
• Business and Commercial Banking saw headline earnings 4% lower and an ROE of over 38%
• Personal and Private Banking grew headline earnings by 3% and saw ROE improvement of over 23%. 
• Insurance and Asset Management saw headline earnings increase by 26% and an ROE of over 22%.

Standard Bank is confident about its performance in the short to medium term, with the macroeconomic conditions of many of the countries it operates in improving.

It believes the South African economy is showing encouraging signs in terms of confidence, investment activity, and medium-term growth. 

This is coupled with reforms in Nigeria, boosting the prospects of another of Africa’s large economies. 

The bank expects mid-to-high single-digit revenue growth in the 2026 financial year, with a cost-to-income ratio of 50% and a return on equity of 19.3%. 

Standard Bank declared a final dividend of R8.78 per ordinary share, bringing the full-year dividend to R16.95 per share.