However, despite the preference for organic growth, he did not rule out inorganic growth via an acquisition.
Standard Bank’s increased focus on the East Africa market is part of a growing pivot into the region by South African lenders, highlighted by Nedbank Group’s ongoing acquisition of a 66 percent stake in NCBA Group and Absa Group’s recent bid for an additional 16.5 percent stake in its Kenyan subsidiary.
Standard Bank was earlier linked to an acquisition of NCBA last year before Nedbank swooped in and made its offer in January 2026.
‘We currently have 21 billion rand (Sh166.7 billion) available for investments in acquisitions and partnerships, dividends, and share buybacks -providing optionality and supporting distributions to shareholders,’ said Mr Tshabalala.
‘We continue to see significant opportunities to expand and deepen our position across Africa and will selectively invest where we have clear competitive advantages and strong prospects for value creation.’
He added that the bank invested $80 million (Sh10.4 billion) of additional capital in Tanzania in July 2026, with a plan to increase its shareholding in its Angola unit before the end of this year.
The CEO said the East African market has growth opportunities that Standard Bank targets to exploit.
‘There is great interest in Kenya and in East Africa. As you know, our competitors, both South African and international, are here often, and that speaks to something special happening in Kenya and East Africa,’ Mr Tshabalala told the Business Daily during his August visit.
‘This is an economy that has been growing at about five percent since the early 2000s as a consequence of the fact that the economy is diversifying; it is a great logistics hub and entry point into the region, and third is that it forms part of an interesting crescent of that trade route in between Egypt, the Gulf States and the Indian Ocean.’
South African rivals, Absa Group and Nedbank, have already made a Sh116.5 billion investment in the Kenyan market with their recent acquisition actions.
In August, Absa Group raised its stake in Absa Bank Kenya from 68.5 percent to 72 percent in a Sh6.53 billion deal, after existing shareholders agreed to sell their 189.4 million shares in its tender offer. The bank had sought to purchase a 16.5 percent stake or 895.9 million shares in the offer, which would have taken its holding to 85 percent if it was fully subscribed.
Meanwhile, Nedbank is on track to complete its Sh110 billion acquisition of a 66 percent stake in NCBA before the end of the year, after receiving a regulatory nod from the Central Bank of Kenya.