JOHANNESBURG - Standard Bank , Africa's ‌largest lender, laid out an ambitious three-year growth plan on Thursday, betting on a surge in continental trade, a vast ​energy and infrastructure financing gap, and a rapid shift to digital banking.

Speaking at the group's Capital Markets Day, Chief Executive Sim ​Tshabalala told ​investors the South Africa-based lender, present in 21 countries, was targeting an annual 8% to 12% growth in headline earnings per share and a return on equity of between 18% and 22% ⁠in 2026-2028.

Revenue is seen growing 7% to 10% per year.

Tshabalala said the group is concerned about the conflict in the Middle East and has taken the necessary measures to manage its risks, but "as things stand, we see no reason to modify our commitments and our targets."

Standard Bank's plan is the latest ​signal that South Africa's ‌biggest lenders are ⁠doubling down on the ⁠rest of Africa as a growth engine, racing to fill a vacuum left by retreating European banks and riding a ​wave of investments into the mining, oil and gas sectors.

Some African countries, ‌particularly in East Africa, are growing at a faster rate than ⁠South Africa, presenting big opportunities to Standard Bank, Tshabalala said.

The group's corporate and investment banking division, its biggest revenue generator, is targeting revenue of 100 billion rand ($5.88 billion) by 2028, up from 74.4 billion rand in 2025, the unit's chief Luvuyo Masinda said.

ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE OPPORTUNITIES

Masinda sees a major opportunity in Africa's energy and infrastructure expansion, citing annual investment needs of $130 billion to $170 billion in energy and about $170 billion in infrastructure.

"Within critical minerals, copper and cobalt present significant financing and advisory opportunities," he added.

The lender will direct incremental capital towards East and West Africa, "where large profit pools exist and fundamentals are improving" and where ‌it does not yet have a top-three market position, Chief Financial Officer ⁠Arno Daehnke said, expecting both organic growth and acquisitions.

Egypt, where the ​lender opened an office in November, is another notable market where it is looking to expand, according to Masinda.

"We expect strong growth from all of our large markets, and such that Africa region is likely to be around ​45% of the group's ‌earnings by 2028," Daehnke said. The African portfolio excluding South Africa contributed ⁠40% in 2025.

($1 = 17.0155 rand)

(Reporting by Nqobile ​Dludla in Johannesburg and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Andrei Khalip)