Nedbank Group has declared improved financial results, with earnings increased by 8%, translating into N$16.9 billion.
The recent financial report for the year ended in December last year emphasised this.
The report highlighted that the return on equity increased by 15.9% during the financial year. The growth in earnings was prompted by positive non-interest revenue growth.
Non-interest income is bank and creditor income derived primarily from fees.
These are deposit and transaction fees, insufficient funds fees, annual fees and monthly account service charges, check and deposit slip fees, a lower impairment charge, and targeted expense management, offsetting muted net interest income growth given slower loan growth and margin pressure.
Muted net interest income is when a bank's muted net interest is lower than expected, which can happen when loan demand is soft or interest rates are low.
Balance sheet metrics all remained strong, enabling the declaration of a final dividend of 1,104 cents per share, up by eight percent at a payout ratio of 57%.
Despite a challenging economic environment, Nedbank Chief Executive Jaon Quinn said the bank achieved significant successes based on its strategic objectives.
This includes IT transformation, which brought refreshed and modern technological platforms.
He further highlighted that amongst these platforms, enhanced digital capabilities supported ongoing strong digital growth and market-leading client satisfaction metrics and gained solid main-banked.
The bank further reported that Employment Tax Incentive-associated investments in home equity decreased by 16% to N$1 million, and associated income decreased by 18% to N$1.1 million.
The Group Managing Executive of Nedbank Africa Regions, Terence Sibiya, said despite this, Nedbank's Africa Regions business remains resilient and continues to focus on the key unlocks to drive growth and transformation for the bank, as attested to in the performance in 2024.
Client growth was achieved in December 2023, with more than 13%, and digitally active clients now make up 70.6% of the active retail client base.