Company Data
| Last traded |
R25.00 |
| Change |
R-0.06 |
| % Change |
-0.24% |
| Cumulative volume |
12.14m |
| Market cap |
R140.95bn |
| Last traded |
R150.00 |
| Change |
R0.00 |
| % Change |
0.00% |
| Cumulative volume |
1.30m |
| Market cap |
R107.73bn |
| Last traded |
R113.00 |
| Change |
R-0.10 |
| % Change |
-0.09% |
| Cumulative volume |
3.20m |
| Market cap |
R179.93bn |
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Johannesburg -
Standard Bank Group [JSE:SBK] on Thursday defended the cost level of its expansion drive, saying current sacrifices will pay off in the long run.
The bank has been targeting emerging economies for long-term growth in the last couple of years, but these efforts have yet to translate into higher investor returns on equity, relative to peers
Absa Group [JSE:ASA] or
FirstRand [JSE:FSR].
Commenting on its interim results to end-June on Thursday, Standard Bank warned investors it was anticipating bigger investments in technology, people and infrastructure as the group expanded its presence in Africa.
Most analysts consulted were satisfied with the group's results, but Metropolitan Asset Managers portfolio manager Safs Narker was more scathing.
"The lights have finally gone on at Standard Bank and they've realised now that investors are starting to get very uncomfortable with this growth strategy which never seems to fire."
He was also critical of Standard Bank's lack of clarity in reporting its costs and return on equity (ROE) for operations outside South Africa.
Overall, banking business costs rose by 7% to R17bn, while costs in the investment and insurance businesses went up 3% to R4.2bn.
Narker did, however, concede that Standard Bank's South African operations remained a "good business".
Sim Tshabalala, head of Standard Bank South Africa and deputy CEO of Standard Bank, defended the level of expenses, saying incurred costs were part of a consistent long-term strategy to diversify and grow the group.
"Cutting costs would be mortgaging our future," he told Fin24.com. "We could very easily cut costs now by 10% by cutting headcount and squeezing suppliers, but that is not going to help anything in the long run."
Tshabalala argued instead that now was the time to commit to growing scale in businesses such as the bank's Nigerian operations, which need investment in people and ATM infrastructure. He also said the bank's track record shows it has been able to make tough cost-cutting decisions when necessary.
Asked for an acceptable return on equity figure on which the emerging market strategy could be judged in five years' time, he said investors would need to scale back their expectations, but could "reasonably expect a figure in the upper teens".
Return on equity for the period under review came in at 13.5%.
- Fin24.com