Virus wipes 20% off income of South African bank’s customers
JOHANNESBURG – The average income of customers at South Africa’s First National Bank plummeted by about 20% during the nation’s lockdown as people took pay cuts or had less work to do.
FirstRand Ltd.’s retail banking unit also experienced a “major drop off” in transactional activity and credit-card spending as businesses closed and people stayed home, FNB’s retail banking head Raj Makanjee said on a call with reporters on Tuesday. Credit growth suffered as South Africans opted to save, he said.
The slump in business is in line with guidance from other South African lenders that earnings for the first half of the year will probably decline by at least 20% as measures to curb the pandemic take their toll on the finances of customers. Unlike its main competitors, FirstRand reports annual results through June.
Source: iol.co.za
