FirstRand Limited, Africa’s most valuable bank by market capitalisation, is exploring expansion in Ghana and Nigeria as it seeks to deepen its footprint across the continent and boost its contribution to group earnings.
The Johannesburg-based lender is assessing opportunities in the two West African economies as part of a broader strategy to become a top-three bank in selected African markets.
“From a macroeconomic point of view, Ghana and Nigeria are actually going through a much better period than they’ve had in the past because of the structural reforms they embarked upon, so we are looking very constructively at growing in those markets,” Mary Vilakazi, CEO at FirstRand said in an interview with Bloomberg last week.
The move comes as several African banking giants accelerate expansion across the continent, filling gaps left by international lenders that are scaling back operations. Many foreign banks have exited African markets in the past decade due to low profitability, high operating costs and rising regulatory complexity, while local lenders increasingly gain ground with digital-first models and deeper local market knowledge.
In January, Nedbank Group announced plans to acquire a majority stake in NCBA Group, a move aimed at strengthening its presence in East Africa, one of the continent’s fastest-growing banking markets.
Similarly, Absa Group acquired Standard Chartered’s wealth and retail banking operations in Uganda, while Nigerian lenders including Access Holdings and Zenith Bank are expanding into East African markets such as Kenya and Ethiopia.
Zambia growth
FirstRand is also exploring ways to scale its operations in Zambia, where it already holds the number one banking position.
The bank acquired Standard Chartered’s wealth and retail banking business in the country last year as part of its strategy to deepen its presence in southern Africa.
“It’s actually one of the standout performers” in the second half of 2025, Vilakazi said. “The ability to get further load and scale in that business is the kind of thing that we would like to see more of.”
FirstRand is also monitoring developments in Kenya, where authorities have announced plans to increase minimum capital requirements for banks ten-fold by 2029, a move expected to trigger consolidation in East Africa’s largest banking market.
“We’re still watching that consolidation activity in Kenya and we are always in discussions to see whether a good entry opportunity offers itself for the group,” the CEO said.
South Africa remains core market
Despite its continental ambitions, South Africa will remain FirstRand’s primary market. The country accounted for 81 percent of group earnings in the six months to December.
The lender expects South Africa’s economic growth to remain modest at around 1.8 percent annually over the next three years, potentially accelerating to about 3 percent within five years if reforms in the country’s energy, infrastructure, transport and logistics sectors gain traction and political stability holds.
“It is possible to structurally lift our GDP growth rate, but it will require a lot more effort for us to get to that 3 to 5 percent growth,” Vilakazi said.
She added that low inflation, political stability and improving economic conditions are beginning to support credit demand in the country.
South Africa is already seeing stronger demand for corporate lending and a gradual pickup in private credit extension in the retail segment.
“This will create an environment that is much better for us than we have operated in before,” she said.
Record interim profit
Earlier, FirstRand reported record interim earnings, supported by stronger lending growth and rising fee income.
Normalized earnings rose 11 percent to R23.2 billion in the six months to December compared with the same period a year earlier. The bank also declared an interim dividend of R2.59 per share.
Non-interest revenue increased 12 percent, driven by strong momentum in its insurance business, a rebound in global markets trading and private equity realizations.
Meanwhile, net interest income grew 7.7 percent, supported by expanding loan books across South Africa, the rest of Africa and the United Kingdom.
