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Johannesburg - Standard Bank South Africa CEO Sim Tshabalala reaffirmed on Tuesday that Africa remains at the core of the bank's refined strategy.
He said the strategy was focused on market penetration and delivering sustainable shareholder value.
"We will focus on delivering superior sustainable shareholder value by serving the needs of our customers through first-class, on-the-ground operations in chosen countries in Africa. We will also connect other selected emerging markets to Africa and to each other, applying our sector expertise, particularly in natural resources, globally," he said.
"Africa is at our core. We are essentially an African institution," he added, pointing out that the bank was the largest on the continent with operations in 17 African countries.
South Africa was also increasingly becoming the springboard for growth into other parts of Africa, especially for multinationals.
"We're positioned to service those multinationals wanting to do business in South Africa and Africa," Tshabalala said.
He admitted that the group's recent results were disappointing but ventured that "we are not taking our eye off the ball here".
"The South African market is getting more competitive, but we are competing hard. We remain the biggest player in the domestic market. South Africa is not ex-growth - there are numerous growth opportunities here that we aim to tap into," he added.
Peter Schlebusch, CEO of Personal and Business Banking at Standard Bank Group [JSE:SBK], said cost growth had outstripped revenue growth at the bank or a number of years. But the bank was looking at a number of areas to improve cost efficiencies.
"But, while we are trying to cut our costs, we are also trying to invest so that we can grow our revenue streams," Tshabalala interjected.
"And we are confident that future revenue flows will justify our investment in infrastructure," he added.
He said the strategy was focused on market penetration and delivering sustainable shareholder value.
"We will focus on delivering superior sustainable shareholder value by serving the needs of our customers through first-class, on-the-ground operations in chosen countries in Africa. We will also connect other selected emerging markets to Africa and to each other, applying our sector expertise, particularly in natural resources, globally," he said.
"Africa is at our core. We are essentially an African institution," he added, pointing out that the bank was the largest on the continent with operations in 17 African countries.
South Africa was also increasingly becoming the springboard for growth into other parts of Africa, especially for multinationals.
"We're positioned to service those multinationals wanting to do business in South Africa and Africa," Tshabalala said.
He admitted that the group's recent results were disappointing but ventured that "we are not taking our eye off the ball here".
"The South African market is getting more competitive, but we are competing hard. We remain the biggest player in the domestic market. South Africa is not ex-growth - there are numerous growth opportunities here that we aim to tap into," he added.
Peter Schlebusch, CEO of Personal and Business Banking at Standard Bank Group [JSE:SBK], said cost growth had outstripped revenue growth at the bank or a number of years. But the bank was looking at a number of areas to improve cost efficiencies.
"But, while we are trying to cut our costs, we are also trying to invest so that we can grow our revenue streams," Tshabalala interjected.
"And we are confident that future revenue flows will justify our investment in infrastructure," he added.
