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Fri 28 Aug 2026
Close: 23 147c 
Day's move: 293c (1.28%)
Volume: 2 063 414
Trades: 5 683
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Net interest income increased to R37.4 billion (R36.3 billion) whilst total income grew to R58.8 billion (R56.5 billion). Operating income before operating expenses increased to R51.7 billion (R49.3 billion). Profit attributable to ordinary equity holders was higher at R12.6 billion (R11.2 billion). Furthermore, headline earnings per share improved to 1 545.4 cents per share (1 431.6 cents per share).
Declaration of interim ordinary dividend number 78
Shareholders are advised that an ordinary dividend of 850 cents per ordinary share was declared on 18 August 2026, for the interim reporting period ended 30 June 2026.
Group prospects
The outlook for the global economy remains particularly uncertain. Events in the Middle East remain volatile, with oil markets trading in a wide range during July. The US has announced a new round of tariffs on dozens of countries. Chinese data suggests it is growing somewhat below the government’s target. Volatility in global equity markets warrant attention. Monetary policymakers everywhere carefully weigh the challenge posed by higher inflation and softening economic growth. On top of this, current meteorological forecasts suggest an elevated probability of a significant El Niño weather event from late 2026 and into 2027, bringing with it the threat of extreme drought or extreme rain in many parts of the world, with potential knock-on effects on global food prices and more.
Against this backdrop we expect the South African economy to grow by 1.5% this year, up slightly from 2025’s 1.1%. In our central scenario, events in the Middle East do not prevent energy prices from retreating significantly from the crisis highs, even if they remain somewhat elevated as compared to pre conflict levels. El Niño may present a challenge to parts of South Africa’s agricultural sector from late 2026, but record crop surpluses in recent growing seasons should help contain food price inflation. As evidenced by the split late July Reserve Bank MPC vote of 4:2 in favour of keeping the policy rate on hold against a further 25bp rise, the near-term outlook for interest rates is difficult to predict. We expect rates to remain unchanged into early 2027, noting that in the alternative case of a small further rise in rates, the economic outlook would not be significantly altered.
The outlook for our presence economies remains constructive despite the uncertain global backdrop and we project weighted real GDP growth in 2026 of 5.1%, just slightly ahead of last year’s 5.0%. We expect a notable improvement in Botswana growth as the diamond sector is rebounding strongly. We remain most concerned about Mozambique, where fiscal and debt sustainability concerns are severe. However, we expect commodity producing markets to continue to benefit from elevated prices, while most commodity importing countries still enjoy low inflation and lending rates that will likely underpin economic activity. Other key drivers of growth are ongoing infrastructure investment, multilateral support and ongoing reforms. Downside risks pertaining to the fallout from the Middle East crisis remain significant, along with potential adverse weather conditions.
Based on these assumptions, and excluding further major unforeseen political, macroeconomic, or regulatory developments, our guidance for 2026 is as follows: We expect low- to mid-single digit revenue growth. We expect high single digit growth in customer loans and mid- to high single digit growth in customer deposits. The Group’s credit loss ratio is expected to be similar to 2025 and in the middle of our through-the cycle target range of 75 to 100 basis points. We expect low- to mid-single digit growth in operating expenses, producing slightly negative operating JAWS and low- to mid-single digit pre-provision profit growth. Consequently, we expect an RoE of around 15%. We expect the Group CET1 ratio to finish 2026 at the top end of our Board target range of 11.0% to 12.5%. Finally, we expect to maintain a dividend payout ratio of 55% for 2026.
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| Closing price data source: JSE Ltd. All other statistics calculated by ProfileData. |
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