However, there’s an exception, as the big banks now want to ride the government’s eagerness for public-private partnerships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nedbank is hoping to hire more investment bankers as it seeks to take advantage of a surge of deals in renewable energy, water, and logistics in Africa\u2019s most developed economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With South Africa in the throes of an electricity crisis and intensifying water shortages, outgoing Chief Executive Officer Mike Brown told Bloomberg that the government is increasingly looking to ink public-private partnerships to address those issues adequately. <\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/a>As a result, Nedbank hopes to hire more investment bankers and deploy more capital to the business to put together such deals, he said in follow-up comments to an interview on Monday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lender\u2019s corporate and investment bank has been a bright spot in recent quarters, generating R6.8 billion in headline earnings in 2023 even as operating expenses jumped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis infrastructure opportunity \u2014 be it renewable energy, logistics and water \u2014 we think is a multiyear growth path for our investment bank,\u201d Brown said in the interview on Monday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIdeally, that is where we would want to deploy capital.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Africa\u2019s most developed economy has faced many energy and infrastructure challenges due to years of underinvestment and mismanagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of its response, the government introduced an offering of state-guaranteed contracts to buy power for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The program has made South Africa a top destination for green-power investments across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standard Bank is also looking to take advantage of this, with the bank noting that it will continue to finance renewable energy projects on various scales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bank highlighted that its growth in home loans was subdued at only 2% for the year, and lending to small businesses declined by 5% to mitigate the impact of non-performing loans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Credit cards and unsecured lending also saw limited growth at 2% each, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The one exception to this trend was loans to large corporations and governments, which grew 16% in 2023 due to the need to fund renewable energy projects and state deficits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n