FirstRand Ltd. sold a 2.5 billion rand ($149 million) bond that rewards investors based on improvements in a Cape Town water-catchment area, measured by the removal of invasive vegetation.

The UK government’s development-finance arm and South Africa’s FirstRand Ltd. have formed a $150 million facility to offer loans to fund the transition of companies in carbon-intensive industries in Africa to the use of greener production methods.

Head of the Financial Conduct Authority wants the loans scandal ‘dealt with quickly’ — but FirstRand has warned its redress plan goes way beyond expectations

FirstRand , ​one of South Africa's biggest banks, said on Tuesday it planned to exit from its ‌UK challenger bank Aldermore, blaming a costly and "deeply flawed" British motor finance redress scheme.

South Africa’s largest bank by value said it will unwind its ownership of British challenger bank Aldermore.

NIPDB, FirstRand Namibia host CEOs’ roundtable to address competitiveness  Windhoek Observer

Lloyds Banking Group is exploring a potential takeover of Aldermore, the ​lender being sold by South Africa's ‌FirstRand amid a motor finance mis-selling scandal engulfing Britain's banking sector, Sky News reported on ​Monday.

The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), in strategic partnership with FirstRand Namibia, recently convened close to 40 top executive business leaders for a CEOs’ Roundtable on Namibia’s Competitiveness.

UK government-owned international development investor to provide capital and assistance to help FirstRand establish new transition finance facility

Britain's Metro ​Bank is exploring ‌a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) ​merger ​with rival lender ⁠Aldermore, ​which was ​put up for sale by ​South ​Africa's FirstRand following ‌the ⁠motor finance mis-selling scandal, Sky ​News ​reported ⁠on Tuesday.

Staff Writer  The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), in strategic partnership with FirstRand Namibia, recently convened close to 40 top executive business leaders for a CEOs’ Roundtable on Namibia’s Competitiveness.  The roundtable was also attended by I-Ben Nashandi, the executive director of the National Planning Commission, which tracks Namibia’s competitiveness in line with NDP6, as well as Shali Shindume, the economic advisor to the President and Dagmar Honsbein, chairperson of the Economic Recovery Task Force. The executive engagement was organised in response to Namibia’s performance decline in the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY). The 2026 edition, the 38th consecutive edition of the WCY, covers 70 economies and 341 criteria. It marks Namibia’s second consecutive appearance in the report, ranked alongside predominantly high and middle-income countries, including five African peers including Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. In the 2026 IMD WCY, Namibia ranked 69th out of 70 benchmarked economies (in 2025, Namibia ranked 68th out of 69 economies), with the country’s score dropping from 37.48 in 2025 to 28.48 in 2026. The report highlighted systemic performance declines in the country’s ranking across all four main factors including business efficiency, government efficiency, infrastructure, and economic performance, each of which are based on 5 sub-factors, for a total of 20 sub-factors.  In terms of performance based on score, only the economic performance factor saw an improvement in its score (from 21.74 in 2025 to 22.30 in 2026), driven by improvements in rank and score on the sub-factors of International Trade and International Investment. Delivering the opening address, NIPDB acting chief executive officer, Julia Muetudhana, stressed that competitiveness directly shapes the investment climate and economic wellbeing.  Conrad Dempsey, chief executive officer of FirstRand Namibia, highlighted that global interest in Namibia must be matched by institutional capacity to execute. “How easy is it to create value in Namibia compared with somewhere else? Every significant investment decision begins there. Before businesses ask how much they can earn, they ask how difficult it will be to succeed,” noted Dempsey. Executive director of the National Planning Commission, I-Ben Nashandi reaffirmed government commitment under Vision 2030 and NDP6, framing the IMD Report as an urgent catalyst. “The current competitiveness rating is a call to action. We commit to NDP6 implementation to ensure we derive outcomes. Chasing the implementation of the plans is an imperative that will get us to improve competitiveness. Automation of services must be matched with internal capacities to drive digital transformation. Reforms need to be uniformly dispersed across all sectors, with timelines and champions to drive them,” said Nashandi. As a key output of this executive engagement, NIPDB and FirstRand Namibia will consolidate the insights and consensus recommendations into a comprehensive advisory note for Cabinet.

CHAMWE KAIRA  FirstRand Namibia has said while the Namibian economy faces some near-term challenges, there are strong reasons for optimism heading into 2025. The firm said certain key sectors in the primary industry, such as oil and gas exploration, uranium, copper and agriculture, coupled with supportive policy measures, should lay the foundation for sustained economic growth in the medium term, according to the FirstRand consolidated interim financial results and cash dividend declaration for the period ended 31 December 2024. The group remains well positioned to participate in opportunities in the oil and gas sector as they emerge, the firm said.  The business delivered solid results but is expecting growth in the second half of the year to be more muted. The impact of the rate-cutting cycle (a total of 75 basis points from August 2024 up to December 2024) will continue to lower endowment and impact net interest income growth, it added. FirstRand said it benefitted from base effects in the comparative period that do not manifest for the second half.  “Changes in the credit write-off policy will also result in a higher overall cost of credit for the year versus the first half. Despite the above, the group’s strategy and customer franchise are well-positioned to navigate the evolving and dynamic economic landscape, as reflected in the strong operational performance achieved during the first six months of the 2025 financial period.” The company said that its strategic priorities, along with careful money management, a strong risk management framework, and ongoing investments in people and technology, allow it to provide excellent customer service while also achieving long-term growth and increasing shareholder value. The six months ended 31 December saw FirstRand Namibia’s profit increase by 10.8% to N$926 million. Net interest income increased by 13%, from N$1.46 billion in December 2023 to N$1.65 billion, despite the repo rate dropping by 75 basis points for the period. During the period ending December, the group, through FNB Namibia Limited, raised N$500 million in Tier 2 capital notes on the Namibia Securities Exchange (NSX).  “This issuance represents the first Basel III compliant note to be placed in the Namibian market, with its success paving the way for future issuances. The final order book was oversubscribed by 1.5 times, demonstrating strong investor confidence for the credit.” The group maintained a strong capital structure throughout the period, consistently exceeding the minimum regulatory requirements. As of December 2024, the capital adequacy ratio stood at 19.1% (2023: 16.4%), while the Tier 1 capital ratio was 16.9% (2023: 15.5%). “Our conservative capital position provides a solid foundation for sustainable growth, ensuring resilience while seizing new opportunities.”

British International Investment, the UK's development finance institution, announced on Tuesday it would provide a $150 million facility to South Africa's FirstRand to support African companies in reducing carbon emissions.

Plus: HSBC in talks for sale of South African banking unit to FirstRand subsidiary, and more

MVNO - The billion dollars secret weapon of Banks At FirstRand's investor presentation last week, the company detailed how its various operating divisions… | 28 comments on LinkedIn

Private equity firm CVC ​Capital Partners is preparing a ‌bid for British challenger bank Aldermore, Sky News reported on Thursday, joining a growing field ​of suitors for the lender ​owned by South Africa's FirstRand .