Absa vs. Standard Bank
A few days ago, I promised you a deep dive on Standard Bank. I knew that Absa’s results were coming, so I figured that I would wait for the opportunity to sniff out the truffles across both banks.
I’m so glad I did!
For one thing, Africa is all the rage in the corporate vision statements and the underlying presentations, yet South Africa is still the biggest segment in both groups.
There’s also a great slide on the different credit loss ratios across multiple products, showing you exactly why personal loans are so expensive. Banking is all about optimising for product mix and the underlying credit exposures.
Also, did you know that business banking generates the highest ROE of all the segments? The penny dropped for me yesterday re: Capitec’s strong push into that space. It’s far more lucrative than I realised.
You can enjoy these insights in this deep dive.
On the subject of Capitec, I’ve been having a great time on a podcast series that showcases entrepreneurs who bank with Capitec Business and the broader partners in the Capitec ecosystem.
The most recent example is a discussion with Carla Massmann on how she’s grown Comic Con Africa into one of Africa’s biggest pop culture events.
In case you didn’t know, the geek economy is serious business!
There were some other important updates yesterday that I’ll catch up on, particularly in the mining sector. But for now, please enjoy the outcome of the hours that I put into trawling through the Absa and Standard Bank presentations.
And as always - good luck in the markets today!
Africa vs. Standard Bank: African ambitions, South African money machines
In this deep dive, I look at the recent results of Absa and Standard Bank.
There's much to learn from these financial services giants, but there's one clear theme that came through for me: though Africa may tell a great story in a slide deck, the South African businesses are still doing the heavy lifting.
International Titans Basket Ltd
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Bringing decades of experience and passion to this discussion, Japie Lubbe walks us through exactly how the structure works.
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Global markets update with Shaun Murison
US markets closed at their lows of the day yesterday as rising oil prices and a global bond selloff weighed on sentiment. Futures markets are extending those losses this morning. The Trump administration says it has ruled out an extension of the now concluded 60 day ceasefire, and Iran has responded by saying it would pivot to a fully offensive military stance.
The dollar remains weak despite higher bond yields.
Growth stocks, notably AI tech related shares, led the decline, and selling has extended to most Asian markets this morning. Oil prices are higher while gold is lower.
The rand is weaker in early trade on risk off sentiment, and we are expecting a negative open for the JSE All Share index.
This morning sees local inflation data released, with domestic CPI expected to come in at 4.5% year on year. This evening will see minutes from the last Fed meeting released.
This update is provided by Shaun Murison, Senior Market Analyst at randswiss.com. Connect with him on LinkedIn here and follow him on X here.
Key Indicators:
USD/ZAR R16.25/$ | US 10yr 4.69% | Gold $4,346/oz | Platinum $1,719/oz | Brent Crude $91.49