South Africa’s FNB Opens Lending Taps in Growth Push at Home

A unit of FirstRand Ltd., Africa’s biggest bank by market value, is stepping up lending, wagering that healthier balance sheets and improved borrower affordability will fuel loan growth in South Africa despite fierce competition.

“We are expecting better growth rates of advances in the next 12 months because impairments stabilized,” said First National Bank Chief Executive Officer Harry Kellan in an interview. “While the strain in consumers still continues, the affordability for some individuals has improved, which means that our lending capacity has increased.”