African Bank Reports 15% Profit Rise, Strong Growth in Business Lending
African Bank’s H1 2025 profit rose 15% to R202m, driven by 49% growth in Business lending and lower impairments.
African Bank Holdings Limited and African Bank Limited reported a 15% rise in net profit to R202 million for the six months ended 31 March 2025, driven by strong growth in Business & Commercial lending.
Net advances grew 20% to R39.1 billion, with Business & Commercial lending up 49%. Customer deposits remained stable at 91% of total funding, supporting an 8% increase in the funding base to R36.3 billion. Liquidity moderated to R3.7 billion as reserves were deployed into business loans.
Interest income rose 6% to R3.7 billion, while non-interest income climbed 39% to R909 million. Credit impairments dropped 10%, reducing the credit loss ratio to 5.3%. Operating expenses increased 16%, raising the cost-to-income ratio to 62.0% as the bank continued its digital transformation.
