Standard Bank

Standard Bank has a 150-year history in South Africa and started building a franchise in the rest of Africa in the early 1990s. We currently operate in 18 countries on the African continent, including South Africa, as well as in other selected emerging markets.

Our strategy is to build the leading African financial services organisation using all our competitive advantages to the full. We will focus on delivering superior sustainable shareholder value by serving the needs of our customers through first-class, on-the-ground operations in chosen countries in Africa. We will also connect other selected emerging markets to Africa and to each other, applying our sector expertise, particularly in natural resources, globally. Our key differentiator is people who are passionate about our strategy, wherever in the world they are based.

We organise ourselves as three business units but present ourselves as one. Our three main pillars of business are Personal & Business Banking, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Wealth - Liberty.

Standard Bank Group is listed on the JSE Limited, share code SBK, and the Namibian Stock Exchange, share code SNB. Normalised headline earnings for 2011 were R13,6 billion ($1,9 billion), total assets were over R1 497 billion (approximately $185 billion) and we employed approximately 52 000 people (including Liberty) across all geographies. Standard Bank's market capitalisation at 31 December 2011 was R157 billion (approximately $19 billion). We opened our 500th branch in the rest of Africa during the year and in total Standard Bank has
1 222 branches, including loan centres, and 7 945 ATMs on the African continent. Click here to view our latest financial results.

The long-term foreign currency ratings for The Standard Bank of South Africa, the single largest operating entity within the Standard Bank Group, are Fitch Ratings BBB+, Moody's A3 and Standard & Poor's BBB+. The long-term foreign currency sovereign ratings for South Africa are: Fitch Ratings BBB+, Moody's A3 and Standard & Poor's BBB+. Click here to read more on credit ratings.

The strategic partnership of the two largest banks in Africa and China, Standard Bank Group and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC took a 20% stake in Standard Bank Group in 2008), will continue to generate significant cooperation benefits.

Standard Bank is involved in community activities including:

• Sponsorships - Joy of Jazz festivals
• Bursaries - these are awarded to top performers.

We subscribe to the Code of Banking Practice, a set of principles governing banking in South Africa and ensuring the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and fairness.