Absa Group reported a rise of 13% in normalised headline earnings of R21-billion for the 2022 financial year, driven by significantly higher pre-provision profit which, in turn, was driven by very strong revenue growth of 15% to just under R100-billion.

Load shedding cast an R18-million shadow in the form of expenditure on diesel over the year, with more than half of that cost attributed to the fourth quarter alone.

"If load shedding stays at February's level and the price of diesel doesn't change, we could spend about R200-million this year. If load shedding is at an average Stage 6 this year, the cost will increase to more than R350-million," said Arrie Rautenbach, Absa's group chief executive officer.

He noted that improving customer experience is a key part of the everyday banking strategy, including embedding a culture of being closer to customers.

"[We] continue to reduce customer complaints and we received the least ombudsman complaints of the big five banks for the third consecutive year.

"Everyday banking's pricing strategy is focused on offering value for money while addressing customer pain points. This year, we reduce fees by another R500-million, taking the cumulative reduction since 2021 to R1-billion," he says.

However, while...