African Bank says transformation costs, acquisition integration and higher impairments contributed to its R624 million interim loss, despite maintaining a strong capital position.
African Bank has reported a R624 million loss for the six months ended March 2026, blaming the setback on the costs of transforming the business, integrating recent acquisitions, higher credit impairments and a difficult operating environment.
According to Business Report, the lender said on Thursday that although earnings came under significant pressure, it had completed a major strategic expansion and was now shifting its focus to consolidating operations, improving efficiency and extracting value from the enlarged banking group.
Interim group CEO Zweli Manyathi said the bank had concluded its Accelerate 2025 strategy, which transformed African Bank into a diversified retail and commercial banking group through acquisitions, including Ubank, Grindrod Bank, and Sasfin's Capital Equipment Finance (CEF) and Commercial Property Finance (CPF) businesses, alongside initiatives such as the launch of a business banking division.
Speaking to Business Report, Manyathi said management was confident the interim loss could be reversed. He added that the group's balance sheet remained strong despite the weaker earnings performance, with a capital adequacy ratio of 25.8% — comfortably above regulatory requirements — while liquidity reserves increased to R6.6 billion from R3.7bn.
