Johannesburg - Nedbank Group [JSE:NED] on Monday reported a
14% increase in non-lending revenue for the first nine months of the year,
helped by higher fees and said it was on track to meet its full-year earnings
target.
Nedbank, South Africa’s fourth-largest bank, said in a
trading statement that non-interest revenue, which includes fees and
commissions, rose 13.9% to R12.4bn in the nine months to end-September.
South African banks have been on a push to increase their
transaction business to offset weak corporate demand for credit in Africa’s top
economy.
They have also stepped up unsecured lending - the profitable
but higher-risk practice of extending loans not backed by collateral.
Nedbank, which is about 52% owned by London-listed insurer
Old Mutual [JSE:ML], said net interest income rose 9.2% to R14.5bn.
Net interest income is a measure of earnings from lending.
The bank also said it was on track to meet its earnings
growth target for 2012. Its target is South Africa’s GDP growth plus the
consumer price index plus 5% and would be around 13.2%, according to Reuters
calculations.
Shares of the bank were flat at R181.61 at 07:12 GMT.