Standard Bank Says ‘South Africa Is Back’ as Reforms Pay Off

South Africa’s push to revive key drivers of its economy such as power availability and logistics has created a tailwind for the largest unit of the continent’s biggest lender by assets.

Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s South Africa business grew profit 16% last year, eclipsing the 9% gain from its other regions, as efforts to undo the effects of years of economic mismanagement and corruption started bearing fruit, it said Thursday. The upswing lifted the unit’s contribution to overall headline earnings to 51% from as low as 34% in 2023.