BEST RETAIL BANK
Absa
BEST INVESTMENT BANK
JPMorgan
SPECIAL AWARD FOR BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Deutsche Bank
Absa had a super year in 2004/05. If negotiating the most important merger in the history of African banking has been a distraction to management, performance over the period doesn't show it. In the year to the end of March, Absa reported a 23.3% increase in headline profits from R4.45 billion to R5.48 billion ($828.4 million). Although diluted headline earnings rose by 18.8%, return on average assets improved from 1.55% to 1.68% and return on shareholders' equity was up from 24.6% to 25.5%
Retail banking led the charge for Absa's continued growth in 2004/05, with its customer base rising from 5.7 million to 6.9 million. "The group benefited from buoyant retail market conditions which enabled personal and commercial banking to record high...
