• Declares full-year profit 
STANDARD Bank Group Limited, Africa's largest bank, parent company of Nigeria's StanbicIBTC Plc and one of the banks reported to be interested in some of the country's weak banks has recently declared its full year financial report.

Apparently toeing the full disclosure policy presently going on in the country, the bank said its full-year profit fell 20 percent as customers battled to repay loans amid South Africa's economic slump.

Net income fell to 11.1 billion ($1.47 billion) from 13.9 billion rand a year earlier, the Johannesburg-based lender said.
“As the recession took its toll, demand for credit in both corporate and retail sectors fell,” Chief Executive Officer Jacko Maree, 54, said. “We anticipate that the group's normalized headline earnings will recover from the 2009 base and management's immediate focus will be to restore earnings to 2008 levels.”

Standard Bank, which in 2008 partnered with the world's largest bank, the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, expanded faster than South African rivals such as FirstRand Limited and Absa Group Limited in the past two years. During the global financial crisis, Standard Bank remained profitable and is targeting growth in China, Africa, Russia and Latin America.

Nevertheless, the bank said that, “The group's Tier I capital ratio is steadily strengthening, our outlook for profitability is improving and economic stress in our chosen markets is easing.” 

The bank, also, kept its dividend unchanged after the net income fell 20 percent.

“Dividends may rise once asset growth and risk-weighted assets pick up again,” Finance Director Simon Ridley said after the lender offered for the second year to allow shareholders the choice of taking their dividends in cash or shares. The dividend is 3.86 rand per share.

Last April 6, Standard Bank said 68 percent of its shareholders opted to take stock rather than a cash dividend. The lender was able to raise its capital levels, and the stock has gained 85 percent in the past 12 months.