South Africa's Standard Bank posts 4% rise in half-year profit

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STORY: Standard Bank, Africa's largest lender, reported a 4% increase in half-year profit on Thursday, thanks to growth in its banking operations and strong earnings from its insurance and asset management unit.

It said headline earnings rose to $1.22 billion (22 billion rand) in the six months ended June 30, up from $1.17 billion (21.2 billion rand ) in the previous year.

With operations in 20 sub-Saharan African countries, Standard Bank said further earnings growth was hindered by currency devaluations across its operations in the rest of Africa, which contributed 41% to group headline earnings.

Net interest income in its banking business grew by 7%.

Gross loans and advances grew by 3% to $94.2 trillion (1.7 trillion rand), as increased competition and higher interest rates negatively impacted demand and affordability, resulting in subdued growth in the bank's retail portfolios.

This, however, "was more than offset by strong momentum in the corporate and sovereign lending portfolio" supported by projects in the energy and infrastructure sector.