By Ian Walker

Standard Bank Group Ltd. said Monday that group headline earnings for the first nine months of the year are 39% lower compared with the same period last year, with slowing balance sheet growth and pressure on margins.

The bank added that earnings per share for the year are likely to be more than 20% below 2019's figures. For 2019, the company reported headline earnings per share of 1766.7 South African cents (115.78 U.S. cents) and earnings per share of 1593.5 South African cents.

Standard Bank said the outlook for credit impairment charges beyond this year remains very uncertain.

Still, the bank's common equity tier 1 ratio--a measure of financial stability--was 13.2% at Sept. 30 compared with 12.6% at June 30.

Standard Bank said it still hasn't made a decision on whether to pay a final dividend this year.

The bank is due to report earnings for the year ending Dec. 31 on March 11.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-30-20 0146ET