Standard Bank Group Limited - Annual General Meeting

Standard Bank Group Limited - Annual General Meeting                            
Standard Bank Group Limited                                                     
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)                                  
(Registration number 1969/017128/06)                                            
South African Share Code: SBK                                                   
Namibian Share Code: SNB                                                        
ISIN: ZAE000038873                                                              
Annual General Meeting 20 May 2004                                              
Standard Bank Group is pleased to announce the following in relation to the     
Annual General Meeting held today.                                              
1. All of the resolutions set out in the Notice of the Annual General Meeting   
dated 9 March 2004 and proposed at the annual general meeting, including the    
special resolutions, were passed by the requisite majorities of shareholders.   
2. A process will commence shortly to informally assess potential investor      
interest in an issue of the non-redeemable preference shares as authorised at   
the meeting today. Shareholders will be advised of developments in this regard. 
3. Chief Executive Jacko Maree made the following comments regarding the group"s
performance for the first four months of the 2004 year at the company"s annual  
general meeting today:                                                          
- Domestic Banking"s results continue to be supported by strong growth in retail
advances, which has partly mitigated the effect of margin compression arising   
from lower interest rates. Non-performing loans and credit loss ratios continue 
to reflect a positive trend.                                                    
- International has started the year strongly although the markets in which it  
operates have recently become more challenging.                                 
- Africa"s performance in the countries in which it operates is satisfactory.   
- Liberty stated in a recent market update that "the performance for the first  
quarter of 2004 was encouraging as far as profitability is concerned" and       
provisional results for this period reflect an improved contribution to group   
earnings.                                                                       
- The group"s financial objectives for 2004 remain unchanged at a return on     
equity of 20% and headline earnings growth of inflation (CPIX) plus 10          
percentage points.                                                              
Johannesburg                                                                    
20 May 2004                                                                     
Sponsor                                                                         
Standard Bank                                                                   
Date: 20/05/2004 11:38:07 AM Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
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