Discovery Bank, part of Adrian Gore’s Discovery Group, said on Wednesday that new business volumes continued to be strong, achieving more than 800 average daily new-to-Bank sales (vs 500 in June 2021).
Discovery Group said the bank is showing significant progress toward a medium-term target of 1 000 sales per day and 1 000 000 clients by 2026.
The Bank has also continued to attract high-quality clients, resulting in high levels of average non-interest revenue (NIR) and a low credit loss ratio of 1.56%.
However, Discovery Group informed investors that Discovery Bank’s operating loss for the financial year was R990 million, 10% lower than the previous financial year.
The Bank continues to expand its current client base, with 470 220 clients (331 000 in the prior period) and 1 023 790 accounts (versus 649 000 in June 2021), representing a
significant milestone for the bank.
The Bank’s retail deposits grew by 30% to R10.6 billion, and advances rose 14% to R4.3 billion.
Discovery Bank competes with Tymebank, Bank Zero, Bidvest Bank and five other big five banks – Absa, Capitec, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank.
TymeBank is owned by African Rainbow Capital (ARC) Financial Services Holdings, a company within Motsepe’s Ubuntu-Botho Investments stable.
Discovery Group Performance
Discovery Group posted a 74% rise in headline earnings per share – SA’s true profit gauge – to 792.4 cents per share for the year ended 30 June 2022.
The Group delivered a strong operating performance from the established operations and remained resilient in a challenging macro-economic environment.
The organisation’s drive for growth manifested through Discovery Bank and in the ongoing evolution of its global healthcare model, notably with the establishment of Amplify Health. In addition, the Vitality Shared-value business model continued to demonstrate its relevance and ability to deliver value to clients and Discovery across all aspects of the value chain as well as to broader society. This supports continued investment in the model.
