The investment and time needed to acquire and complete the integration of three diverse banks over a four-year period has weighed on African Bank’s first-half results.The group said on Thursday while the acquisitions are aligned with its strategy and remain central to building a fully-fledged retail and commercial bank, the investment required, and the time needed to complete the integration, the build-out of new systems, and an organisational redesign, weighed on its net results.For the six months ended March, the group reported a decline in total net income from operations before impairments to R3.27bn from R3.79bn a year ago.Credit impairments increased to R1.79bn from R1.22bn, resulting in a worsening in the credit loss ratio to 7.7% from 5.3% previously.Total income before expenses fell to R1.48bn from R2.56bn. The group’s total assets rose by 14% to R58.14bn.Net advances were up 5% to R41.17bn, with business and commercial the main contributor.The group said net insurance income grew by 11%, slightly impacted by the knock-on effect of lower advances in personal banking, but benefitting from lower claims, improving market conditions and enhanced credit and insurance risk management.Group funding grew by 23% to R44.7bn, with customer deposits up 18% to R38.7bn. The capital adequacy ratio remains above the minimum regulatory requirements at 25.8%, compared to 28% a year ago.The group said its “Excelerate” strategy is designed to build a more sustainable, fully-fledged and diversified financial services institution. “This [strategy] included targeted acquisitions to establish our business and commercial banking capability, alongside scaling our insurance offering and alliance partnerships to strengthen our personal banking franchise,” it said. “However, the expected earnings uplift has taken longer to realise than initially anticipated, as evidenced in the performance for the current period. “In response, we have deliberately shifted our focus towards operational consolidation. This includes integrating operations, aligning systems and embedding a unified operating model across the group,” it added.The next phase is focused on streamlining processes, eliminating duplication, strengthening governance across the newly acquired entities and driving greater operational efficiency at scale.“Our objective is to translate the strategic investments we have made into a more stable, efficient and sustainable platform for future growth.”African Bank said the remainder of the 2026 financial year is expected to remain challenging as change is implemented and it delivers on the consolidation plan that will create a sound platform for the future. “We are entering a phase where execution and delivery will be paramount to scale our business, preserve our capital, drive higher transactional activity and continue prudently managing our costs. We will remain agile and responsive to changes in the external environment, ensuring we can navigate uncertainty,” it said.Last month the bank suffered a setback when its purchase of Eskom’s R5.7bn staff home loan book fell through due to the conditions precedent not being met.The company originally announced the deal with Eskom Finance Company in December 2024. The sale of the loan book agreement regulating the proposed transaction was concluded in April 2025, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions precedent.“Due to the conditions precedent not being met, specifically in terms of the agreed timeline, the agreements automatically lapsed in terms thereof and are of no further force or effect,” African Bank said in a statement . It said at the time it remained committed to its strategic plan for its personal banking business.