For the second year in a row, Standard Bank walks away with the award for the best bank in Africa. And for good reason.
The South African lender not only bagged the big prize this year; it was also named best bank for financing, best bank for advisory and, courtesy of its private banking team, best bank for wealth management.
At a country level, Standard Bank was named best overall bank plus best bank for corporates and best bank for environmental, social and governance in its home market of South Africa. In the markets where it trades as Stanbic Bank, the group scooped another handful of awards, including for best bank and best investment bank in Uganda.
Under the leadership of chief executive Sim Tshabalala, Standard Bank is financially stronger than ever before. It posted total net income of R177.6 billion ($9.57 billion) in the full year 2023, up 20% year on year – beating all its rivals by a country mile. It also posted headline earnings of R42.9 billion, up 27% year on year, with return on equity rising to 18.8% from 16.3%. The number of active clients the bank serves Africa-wide rose 6%, to 18.8 million.
“We made pleasing progress in 2023, demonstrating the value of our Africa-centred strategy, the strength of our well-balanced portfolio, and our commitment to serving our clients with consistent excellence,” says Tshabalala. “Our financial performance was strong and the outcome of the continued execution of our strategy.”
Particularly noteworthy in 2023 was the success of its Africa Regions franchise – comprising all the nation states it serves, bar South Africa. The group generated $972 million in headline earnings in 2023 – up 49% year on year and accounting for 42% of all headline earnings, against 36% the previous year. Strong numbers from the likes of Mozambique, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda led the way.
Standard Bank’s pan-African power and reach grows by the year. Its investment banking team landed a plum role on many of the big capital markets deals of the year. In its role as mandated lead arranger, the lender completed 63 loans worth a total of $5.27 billion, for a 10.21% share of the market, according to data from information provider Dealogic. It also topped the mandated lead-arranger rankings for green, social and sustainability-linked loans and bonds, completing 23 offerings worth a total of $1.41 billion, Dealogic data show.
In March 2023, the lender acted as lead coordinator on a $365 million facility agreement for DP World. The capital was used by the Dubai-based logistics firm to support the expansion of South Africa subsidiary Imperial across sub-Saharan Africa. Standard Bank was sole lender on the facility.
Particularly noteworthy in 2023 was the success of its Africa Regions franchise, which generated $972 million in headline earnings – up 49% year on year
And in M&A, the lender acted as sole financial adviser to Huaxin Cement on its acquisition of South Africa’s Natal Portland Cement. The deal saw Huaxin, headquartered in Wuhan and listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, buy the asset from Brazilian rival InterCement for $231.6 million, enabling Huaxin to deepen its presence in southern Africa.
Standard Bank Wealth & Investment meanwhile continues to bolster its status as the region’s strongest private bank. The business, which delivers private wealth services to clients in 14 markets across the continent, generated R1.5 billion in pre-tax profit in 2023, up 61% year on year, with client assets under management rising 9% to R128.5 billion.
Among the private-wealth services unveiled during the awards period were: an expanded alliance with London consultancy Henley & Partners, delivering emigration services to high net-worth clients; and a project with veteran African philanthropist Shelagh Gastrow, helping clients to map out their long-term philanthropic goals.
