Rich South Africans are buying homes in one of the safest countries in Africa
More wealthy South Africans are buying homes in Namibia, ranked as one of the safest countries in Africa, for tax benefits and permanent residency.
It also posted a record investment banking origination of R123 billion in the six months to the end of June 2025, as it benefits from significant energy and infrastructure spending in South Africa and the broader continent.
Led by Luvuyo Masinda, who some tip to take over the bank’s top job, the CIB division has gone from strength to strength despite fierce competition.
Masinda has big shoes to fill, with his predecessor, Kenny Fihla, now Absa CEO, doubling the CIB’s headline earnings to R20.5 billion from 2017 to 2024.
Since taking on the job of CEO of the CIB division in September 2024, Masinda has continued this strong growth, with the division posting half-year headline earnings of R12 billion – an annual run rate of R24 billion.
This makes up more than half of Standard Bank’s interim headline earnings of R23.8 billion, with the next largest business unit contributing R4.8 billion.
Crucially, the division also has an impressive return on equity of 22.9%, which is above Standard Bank’s medium-term target range of 18% to 22%.
This is driven by the strong growth in the division’s trading revenue, up 22%, and its fee and commission revenue, up 24%. This revenue is not as sensitive to interest rate fluctuations as traditional lending activities.
It is also leading the way with regard to the bank’s Africa Regions business, with 57% of its income coming from outside of South Africa.
The division is also the spearhead of Standard Bank’s push into sustainable financing, with it mobilising R53 billion in the first six months of 2025.
This is part of Standard Bank’s broader aim to lead Africa’s energy and infrastructure development, which it sees as one of its three key growth ambitions for its SBG 2028 targets. By the end of 2028, it aims to have mobilised R450 billion in financing in this sector.
The slide below from the bank’s interim results presentation outlines the CIB division’s strong performance in the first six months of 2025.
Expansion into Africa
Standard Bank’s CIB division has consistently led its expansion into Africa, with the bank often following its clients and trade flows around the continent.
The next step on this journey is the bank’s expansion into Egypt, with CEO Sim Tshabalala proudly stating that the North African country has been painted “Standard Bank blue”.
Tshabalala told Daily Investor that the bank already services many of its clients in Egypt, including the country’s central bank.
These clients are increasingly looking to expand into Africa, particularly the eastern seaboard of the continent, and Standard Bank wants to facilitate that investment and capture value from the growing trade between Africa and the Middle East.
“Now we have people on the ground and we have directly relevant experience and products to be able to do that,” Tshabalala said.
He explained that previously these clients were serviced through ‘suitcase banking’ from Standard Bank’s office in Dubai.
Suitcase banking, where bankers fly into a city, broker or facilitate a deal and return home the next day, is commonplace in emerging economies.
“Now we consider it is appropriate for us to actually have people on the ground who service them and our clients from the Gulf states,” Tshabalala said.
“These companies have a lot of interest in the African continent, particularly in its ports such as Dar es Salaam and Maputo.”
A number of Standard Bank’s clients in Egypt are also increasing their presence in East Africa, a region that is growing quickly and contributes meaningfully to the bank’s financial performance.
“This forms a crescent, if you want, from East Africa up to Egypt and then the Gulf states. We want to facilitate the movement of people, goods, ideas, and capital in that space.”
Tshbalala said the bank remains on the front foot with regards to expanding further, with it having a R13 billion warchest.
“If we find opportunities that are appropriately priced and at risk levels, we think we could generate adequate rewards,” Tshbalala said.
“Importantly, we will only move where there are cultural alignments. Only then will we deploy capital for that purpose.”
“To answer the question directly, we are in an expansionary mode. Whether it be organic or inorganic.”
Issued on Daily Investor by Shaun Jacobs | https://dailyinvestor.com/banking/98166/standard-banks-crown-jewel-shooting-the-lights-out/
