
SA’s Big Four Banks: Earnings Up, Costs Tight, Digital Bets Rising
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GUEST - Rivaan Roopnarain, PwC South Africa Banking and Capital Markets Partner
In this conversation we dive into PwC’s Major Banks Analysis 2025, a detailed look at the performance of South Africa’s Big Four banks, Standard Bank, FNB, Absa and Nedbank.
Despite operating in a climate of weak domestic growth, global trade uncertainty and shifting monetary policy, the major banks delivered a combined headline earnings growth of 11.2% to R69.7bn in the first half of the year. Return on equity improved to 19.5%, while credit losses eased and balance sheets strengthened.
Rivaan explains how the banks are showing stability through uncertainty: sharpening cost controls, investing in digital transformation, and leveraging regional expansion to drive growth.
In this conversation we dive into PwC’s Major Banks Analysis 2025, a detailed look at the performance of South Africa’s Big Four banks, Standard Bank, FNB, Absa and Nedbank.
Despite operating in a climate of weak domestic growth, global trade uncertainty and shifting monetary policy, the major banks delivered a combined headline earnings growth of 11.2% to R69.7bn in the first half of the year. Return on equity improved to 19.5%, while credit losses eased and balance sheets strengthened.
Rivaan explains how the banks are showing stability through uncertainty: sharpening cost controls, investing in digital transformation, and leveraging regional expansion to drive growth.

