Absa Group reported a better-than-expected 19% rise in first-half profit helped by a decline in bad loan charges and rising income from transactions.
Nedbank Group has reported a 26% rise in first-half profit, which was helped by a drop in bad debts and its push to boost revenue from fees.
Big South African banks are expected to show scant underlying growth when they report first-half earnings in coming weeks.
Absa’s profit before tax decreased by 19% to R1,481-billion in the first quarter of 2011 from R1,832-billion in the first quarter of last year.