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Nedbank has crossed the 8-million-client mark for the first time in its 138-year history, the bank said Tuesday, as it reported a modest 2% rise in headline earnings for the year ended December 2025.
The group, South Africa's fourth-largest lender by assets, said profit for the year increased 2% to R17.2 billion, while return on equity declined from 15.8% to 15.4%.
It was not a blowout year on the numbers. But group CEO Jason Quinn framed it as a turning point.
"Our strategic value unlocks, which focus on driving faster revenue growth and enhancing productivity, are making good progress," Quinn said. "For the first time in the group's history, total clients reached 8 million."
Quinn described 2025 as a transformative year for the bank, marked by bold strategic decisions. He took over from longtime Nedbank chief Mike Brown in May 2024, arriving from Absa, where he had served as group financial director, and moved quickly to reshape the organisation.
The reorganisation involved the creation of a business and commercial banking unit, a juristic-focused cluster designed to cover SMEs and commercial clients. Nedbank also sharpened its focus on mid-sized corporates, typically companies turning over R1 billion or more annually, with a stated target of capturing 25% of that market.
That segment is getting crowded. The battle for market share in business and commercial banking, particularly in the SME and mid-sized markets, is becoming a highly contested space in South Africa's banking sector, with Investec among those having entered the fray.
The group's digital performance offered some of the cleaner signals of progress. In personal and private banking, digital transaction volumes and values increased by 10% and 16%, respectively, supported by digitally active retail clients that grew 9% to 3.4 million. Active Nedbank Money app clients climbed 14% to 3 million, supporting a 15% increase in transaction values.
The biggest strategic move of the period came in January, when Nedbank announced it would pay R13.9 billion for a controlling 66% stake in NCBA Group, a Kenyan bank with roots tied to some of the country's most prominent families. NCBA's main shareholders include the Kenyatta family and that of former Central Bank of Kenya governor Philip Ndegwa. The bank has a client base of 60 million.
NCBA also operates in Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, and has a digital offering in Ghana and Ivory Coast. The deal rattled markets when it was announced, but drew a positive read from credit analysts. Moody's said the proposed acquisition was credit positive for Nedbank because it would help diversify its earnings base and strengthen its presence in higher-growth African markets.
Quinn also pointed to several other executed moves during the year: the restructuring of the bank's Retail and Business Banking and Nedbank Wealth clusters, the sale of the group's shareholding in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, and the acquisition of fintech firm iKhoka.
He said return on equity for the 2026 financial year is expected to come in above 15%, with a medium-term target of around 17%, supported by stronger revenue growth and a well-managed expense base.
