Africa\u2019s biggest lender sees opportunity in both its core South African market and the rest of the continent amid a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Africa is fiercely competitive,\u201d Standard Bank Group chief executive officer Sim Tshabalala said in an interview on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to continue making investments\u201d there. The Johannesburg-based lender is also ready to take advantage of consolidation throughout Africa, where it has a presence in 20 countries, he said.<\/p>\n
Standard Bank has increasingly turned its focus outward in recent years, with Africa producing the fastest-growing parts of its business last year and contributing about a quarter of its total income.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to go where the returns are highest and the risks are lowest,\u201d Tshabalala said.<\/p>\n
Geographically, Ethiopia and the West African Economic and Monetary Union – including C\u00f4te D\u2019Ivoire, Mali and Senegal – are attractive, he said. The lender expects growth in South Africa to rebound by 4.6% this year, Tshabalala said.<\/p>\n
While Standard Bank moves against stepped-up competition in Africa and at home, it must also protect its talent as Absa Group Ltd. hunts for a new leader and other top executives. The sudden resignation of Absa\u2019s former head, Daniel Mminele, has raised concerns around succession planning at South African companies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worry immensely because traditionally Standard Bank has been a hunting ground for talent,\u201d Tshabalala said.<\/p>\n
Concerning its own succession planning, the bank has \u201cdeep bench strength and there are no concerns about the quality of existing management,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n