Standard Bank profit rises 8.5% to 38.966 billion rand in nine months
Key Facts
Standard Bank's profit attributable to ordinary shareholders rose to 38.966 billion rand in the nine months ended 30 September 2026, according to an earnings update reported by Investing.com. The year-on-year increase was 8.5% compared with the same period in 2025, as earnings continued to rise from the previous year. The earnings update was not reviewed by the group's external auditors, according to the website's account of the disclosure. The bank had reported record headline earnings of 26.1 billion rand for the first half ended 30 June 2026. Those headline earnings rose 10% year on year, according to the group's official half-year results statement.
Detailing its first-half banking performance, Standard Bank attributed the results to growth in fee and trading revenue, alongside lower credit losses. The bank also cited cost control as a factor supporting its banking performance during the period, according to its results statement. The group said performance benefited from "lower credit impairment charges and disciplined cost management", describing the drivers of its half-year results. The credit loss ratio stood at 73 basis points in the first half of 2026, according to performance indicators the group published for investors. The ratio was 93 basis points in the corresponding period of 2025, marking a year-on-year decline alongside the reduction in provisions cited by the bank.
On returns on capital, the group's return on equity reached 19.8% in the first half of 2026, according to its investor relations page. That compared with a return of 19.1% in the corresponding period of 2025, alongside the increase in headline earnings in the half-year results. The return fell within the bank's medium-term target range of 18% to 22%, according to the group's results statement for the previous financial year. On capital metrics, the common equity tier 1 capital ratio stood at 13.6% in the half-year results, according to the bank. The ratio rose from 13.2% in the corresponding period, adding an increase in capital to the year-on-year improvement in return on equity.
Standard Bank raised its dividend per share for the first half of 2026 to 902 cents, according to figures published on the group's investor relations page. The dividend per share for the first half of 2025 was 817 cents, the comparative figure the bank presented alongside the new dividend. Dividend growth was 10% year on year, in line with the reported increase in headline earnings for the half-year period. By geography, the group's operations in African regions outside South Africa contributed headline earnings of 10.4 billion rand in the first half of 2026. Those operations accounted for 40% of the group's total headline earnings during the period, according to Standard Bank's official half-year results statement.
The latest results follow Standard Bank's headline earnings of about 49.2 billion rand in the 2025 financial year, according to the group's official annual results presentation. The bank compared that figure with headline earnings of 44.5 billion rand in the 2024 financial year in its presentation of the previous year's performance. On the size of its customer base, the group said it had more than 19.5 million customers at the end of June 2026, according to its financial highlights page. The group is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and A2X, with its shares trading under the symbol SBK on both markets, according to its official investor profile. It also has a listing on the Namibian Stock Exchange under the symbol SNB, alongside its two South African listings.
In its medium-term objectives, Standard Bank set a target range for compound annual growth in headline earnings per share of 8% to 12%, according to the group's results statement for the 2025 financial year. The target relates to headline earnings per share within the medium-term performance objectives the group announced to investors. The next event on the investor calendar is the pre-close call, which the bank scheduled for 14 December 2026. The call covers the 2026 financial year, according to the official calendar published on the group's investor relations website. It will be followed by the release of results for the 2026 financial year on 11 March 2027, the date the bank set for publishing its full-year performance.