Standard Bank reports strong interim performance and executive succession plans

STANDARD Bank Group’s share price rose as much as 3.3% on Thursday after reporting a strong interim financial performance and the future retirement plans of its two top executives.

- EDWARD WEST

CEO Sim Tshabalala and CFO Arno Daehnke are set to retire late in 2027. The board of Africa's biggest bank by assets in June raised the retirement age of their executives from 60 to 63, but ‘Tshabalala, who was appointed in 2013, and Daehnke, appointed in 2016, will not be impacted by this decision.

‘Tshabalala said in an interview with Business Report that this was because their retirements were part of a longer term, orderly succession strategy. “It was always the plan to retire at 60. We are both energetic... I am sure we will be making further contributions to add value post-retirement,” he said.

The bank lifted headline earnings per share by 10.4% to 1 458.0 cents in the six months to June 30, 2025. The share price traded as high as R250.04 on Thursday morning, a price 7.7% higher than what it traded at a year ago.