Business

Standard Bank CEO scores R106 million payday

Caitlyn Hilliard-Lomas

 ·19 Mar 2026

The Standard Bank Group has revealed how much its top executives earned in 2025, with Group CEO Sim Tshabalala earning over R100 million.

Tshabalala remained the highest-earning executive for the 2025 financial year, with his total remuneration rising from R89.2 million in 2024 to R106.38 million in 2025.

Other executives also saw significant increases, including the CEO of Business and Commercial Banking, Bill Blackie, whose total remuneration rose from R43.7 million in 2024 to R71.29 million in 2025.

The total remuneration packages for executives comprise the fixed remuneration, which includes salary, employer retirement contributions and other benefits, short-term incentives (cash and deferred), and long-term incentive awards such as Performance Reward Plan vesting and notional dividends.

Standard Bank Group’s Chief Finance and Value Management Officer (CFO), Arno Daehnke, had a total remuneration package of R79.2 million in 2025, an increase from R68.4 million in 2024.

Funeka Montjane, CEO of Personal and Private Banking at Standard Bank Group, saw a slight increase in her total remuneration package from R65.5 million in 2024 to R68.3 million in 2025.

Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking, Luvuyo Masinda, who was appointed to his position in 2024, saw an increase from R12.6 million in 2024 to R44.4 million in 2025.

However, Masinda’s remuneration for 2024 and 2025 reflects values proportional to the parts of the vesting periods he has served in his respective roles.

Yuresh Maharaj, Standard Bank Group’s Chief Executive Officer of Insurance and Asset Management, earned a total remuneration package of R55.9 million in 2025, an increase from R41.7 million in 2024.

Chief Operating Officer Margaret Nienaber earned a total remuneration of R72.3 million in 2025, up from R62.5 million in 2024.

Former CEO of Standard Bank South Africa and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Standard Bank Group, Kenny Fihla, saw a significant drop from R67.3 million in 2024 to R5.2 million in 2025 due to his exit from the group in June 2025.

Fihla left the group in 2025 to become the CEO of the Absa Group. Standard Bank’s former Group Chief Risk Officer, David Hodnett, took over as Standard Bank South Africa CEO.

A large portion of the executives’ total packages came from the Performance Reward Plan (PRP) vesting and associated notional dividends.

The 2025 PRP values reflect awards granted in March 2023, which achieved a high vesting percentage of 152% based on the successful delivery of performance conditions measured over the three-year period ending December 31, 2025.

Standard Bank Financial results

Over the year, the group saw headline earnings reach R49.2 billion. The banking businesses saw strong performance, driven by balance sheet growth and robust fee and trading revenue growth.

“Headline earnings per share grew by 12%, and return on equity improved to 19.3%, underpinned by the group’s diversified and growing franchise,” said Tshabalala.

Credit impairment charges were lower year on year, which it said was supported by an improving macroeconomic environment, while costs were also well managed.

The group’s board also approved a final dividend of 1,695 cents per share, which was a 12% increase year-on-year. It was at the upper end of the group’s target range of 45% to 60%.

The group’s active client base grew to 19.6 million over the period, driven by growth in South Africa and Africa Regions.

In South Africa, targeted initiatives to grow retail transactional clients resulted in a 9% increase in digital clients, a 5% increase in digital transactional volumes, and a 67% increase in clients who transact digitally.