S.African lender Nedbank posts 11% rise in half year profit

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s Nedbank Group, amongst the top five lenders in the country, recorded an 11% rise in interim profit as it gained from high interest rates, even as its bad loans grew.

For the half year ended June 30, the bank’s headline earnings per share, a profit measure, was at 15.25 rand ($0.8121), up from 13.70 rand posted a year earlier.

South African banks – among the continent’s biggest – are generally considered well-capitalised and conservative in lending. But a combination of inflation, high interest rates and regular power cuts are taking a toll.

Nedbank’s credit loss ratio – a measure of bad loans as a percentage of total loans – was at 121 basis points (bps), higher than 85 bps it posted a year earlier and beyond its target range of 80 bps to 100 bps.

($1 = 18.7778 rand)

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