FirstRand is paying an interim dividend after its earnings recovered faster than expected from the depths of last year's hard lockdown. That's set a precedent for SA's other banks to follow when they start releasing their annual results from next week.

Standard Bank has already left the door open for a final payout for its 2020 financial year, while Absa and Nedbank have warned shareholders not to expect one. Of course, that was before the Reserve Bank's Prudential Authority changed its guidance on distributions last month. Investec was the outlier, paying an interim dividend even before the guidance was relaxed.

Momentum Metropolitan has also declared an interim dividend despite the impact of Covid-19 on the insurance group. It remained profitable though, unlike Liberty Holdings, which isn't paying a dividend.

Also today, results from short-term insurer Santam, freight, logistics and financial services group Grindrod, and Fairvest Properties.

And DealMakers brings you all the latest mergers and acquisitions news from SA and across the rest of the continent.

Finally, the cover story in the latest issue of Today's Trustee examines the worrying contraction in retirement fund savings. Details in today's newsletter - and you can also access the full edition of the magazine by following this link.

Have a good weekend.

Stephen Gunnion

Managing Editor, InceConnect

The latest from Ingham Analytics

If you've been watching government bond yields, from the US to Europe to Japan, and wondered what's going on them look no further for incisive analysis than "Now what do they want?" by internationally respected risk analyst Andrew Kinsey. What we're seeing has consequences - for you. Talking of consequences, South African banks are facing record levels of impairments as "Budget blues" unpacks, and with sovereign risk elevated so are they. Is a future return of dividend payments a reason to buy banks stocks or not?