Publications
Partners
Like its competitors, FirstRand has been keen to increase its presence across , but has adopted a more cautious stance to purchases, failing in recent acquisition attempts in west African nations and .
But it is still keen to grow and although outside its main South African market made up just 11% of its structured lending book, FirstRand said advances in the region grew 75% while revenue expanded by 26%.
FirstRand said it has R10bn in surplus capital that it would deploy over the next two years to expand its smaller African businesses.
"We grow organically, just like we are growing organically in , , and . Those platforms obviously take long to fully establish, but they are doing pretty well," chief executive Sizwe Nxasana told Reuters, adding FirstRand would consider small purchases where they made sense.
Other -based lenders are also busy expanding their presence across the continent.
Bigger rival Standard Bank has businesses in 18 African countries and Barclays , formerly known as , in August took up eight operations that were held by its British parent.
Nedbank, fourth of the so-called "Big Four" lenders, is also expected to exercise its right to take up a 20% stake in pan-African lender from as early as November 2013.
FirstRand's deal to purchase Merchant Bank that would have given it a footprint in the oil-producing country fell through in July. But the bank still managed to grow its exposure in the west African country to R2.3bn.
Measured approach
"They still have a stated African strategy, but it's taking longer to play out," said , a banks analyst at asset manager . "Building an African strategy is always going to be difficult and they are taking a measured approach."
In , where the lender is one of a syndicate of banks picked to provide with $3.3bn for a new plant and where authorities have relaxed regulations covering its merchant banking licence, Nxasana said FirstRand would be launching its FNB brand.
It has in the past shown interest in acquiring one of three Nigerian nationalised banks that are up for sale.
FirstRand has also been on a growth spurt at home, where its retail arm, FNB, added 1.1 million accounts over the year after a marketing plan targeting competitors' customers.
FNB's earnings grew 20% while Rand Merchant Bank, the corporate and investment banking arm, increased by 23% - boosting group earnings by an expected 20%, propelled by loan income and earnings from fees and commissions.
FirstRand said diluted normalised earnings per share, which exclude certain one-time items, came in at 271.8 cents in the year to end-June against 225.8 cents a year earlier.
Net interest income climbed 13% to R24.7bn, while impairments fell 5% to R4.8bn.
After several years of increased lending to low-income borrowers, South African banks are taking a more measured approach to unsecured loans - high-interest loans that are not backed by collateral.
Nxasana said the bank was creating more provisions and pushing for better loan collections.
"Given the tough economic environment ... we've created credit overlay provisions in anticipation of a deteriorating economic environment," he told Reuters.
The central bank has said levels of unsecured credit - at slightly above a tenth of total banking assets - are unlikely to cause much harm to the wider South African financial system.
FirstRand shares had gained 1.7% by 13:33, bringing total gains so far this year to 2.7%, while the banking index is down 2.6%.
