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Johannesburg - Standard Bank Group [JSE:SBK] is poised to deliver loan growth ahead of its peers given its strong franchise network, Goldman Sachs said and upgraded Africa’s biggest bank by assets to “neutral”.
The brokerage also raised its target price on South Africa’s second-largest bank FirstRand [JSE:FSR] and said the bank would continue to benefit from its focus on asset financing and unsecured lending.
Goldman sees relatively slower credit growth in South Africa owing to weaker macroeconomic conditions.
“We expect a loan growth of about 6% over 2011-13 which we deem the ’new normal’ vis-a-vis prior periods of exceptional growth,” the brokerage wrote in a note to clients.
Among the four big South African banks - Standard Bank, FirstRand, Absa Group [JSE:ASA] and Nedbank Group [JSE:NED] - Goldman said it prefers “neutral” rated FirstRand.
It maintained its “sell” rating on Nedbank and Absa.
The brokerage also raised its target price on South Africa’s second-largest bank FirstRand [JSE:FSR] and said the bank would continue to benefit from its focus on asset financing and unsecured lending.
Goldman sees relatively slower credit growth in South Africa owing to weaker macroeconomic conditions.
“We expect a loan growth of about 6% over 2011-13 which we deem the ’new normal’ vis-a-vis prior periods of exceptional growth,” the brokerage wrote in a note to clients.
Among the four big South African banks - Standard Bank, FirstRand, Absa Group [JSE:ASA] and Nedbank Group [JSE:NED] - Goldman said it prefers “neutral” rated FirstRand.
It maintained its “sell” rating on Nedbank and Absa.
