Dynamic CEO-CFO duo who transformed Standard Bank

At the turn of the millennium, Standard Bank, under the leadership of banking luminary Jacko Maree, was positioning itself for a period of rapid growth. Whether he realised it at the time or not, two inspired hires in the early 2000s — Sim Tshabalala and Arno Daehnke — would go on to help propel the group to the pinnacle of African banking.

Having joined the group a year apart — Tshabalala in 2000 and Daehnke in 2001 — the pair have gone on to become one of the most consequential CEO-CFO duos in South African corporate history.

With both executives set to retire and hand over to a new generation of leaders at the end of 2027, their tenure is likely to go down in banking history as a defining era in the bank’s growth and market-leading shareholder returns.

When Daehnke succeeded Simon Ridley as CFO in 2016, he was already a 15-year Standard Bank veteran, having held several senior positions before his promotion. He played a central role in shaping the “Big Blue” — the group’s nickname in financial circles because of the sheer scale of its balance sheet.

For Tshabalala, the Standard Bank journey has been marked by big assignments, culminating in his appointment as co-CEO alongside Ben Kruger in 2013, before taking sole charge in 2017.

Together, Tshabalala and Daehnke have formed one of the banking sector’s most formidable executive teams. Their partnership helped guide the lender through some challenging periods, including the Covid-19 pandemic, during which the bank still reported a profit of R16bn.

The group’s profit more than doubled during their tenure, rising from R23bn in 2016 to R49.2bn in the 2025 financial year.

To put that growth in headline earnings into perspective, the R26.2bn increase in profit generated under Tshabalala and Daehnke exceeds the entire annual profits reported by both Nedbank and Absa in their respective 2025 financial results.

The key metrics of return on equity and cost to income have also trended in the right direction. Return on equity improved from 15.3% in 2016 to 19.3% in 2025, while the cost-income ratio declined from 56.3% to 50.2%.

Over the same period, the group’s assets expanded from R2-trillion to R3.6-trillion, cementing Standard Bank’s position as Africa’s largest banking group by assets. The lender is now valued at R505bn on the JSE.

Aheesh Singh of MP9 Asset Management said Tshabalala and Daehnke were a dream team that many boards would kill to have, and their imminent retirement — while making way for a new breed of talent to come to the fore — would be a tough act to follow.

“The Sim–Arno partnership ranks as one of the most effective combinations in South African banking. Over their tenure, Standard Bank’s revenue is up roughly 60%, while net income has grown by more than 120%, with return on equity in the high teens,” Singh said.

“The incoming leadership team inherits a larger, more resilient business but will need to work hard to sustain this return profile in what is likely to be a tougher and more volatile [macroeconomic environment].”

Having given itself sufficient time to appoint successors, Standard Bank is widely expected to promote from within, with the group not in short supply of talent.

Tshabalala and Daehnke are also expected to play an active role in implementing the group’s 2028 targets, which were outlined earlier this year at the bank’s capital markets day.

Asset manager Coronation said in its first-quarter review that Standard Bank’s prospects remained strong. “The key driver is its unmatched portfolio of banking operations across the African continent,” it said.

“Standard Bank has been investing in Africa for more than 30 years, and this is evident in the strength and breadth of their African business, which is well entrenched with many global customers who utilise its unmatched reach to bank their African operations. This is being used as a base from which to penetrate further into the unbanked on the continent.”

Business Times