Higher operating profit expected

INVESTEC expects higher fullyear revenue and operating profit, because a recovery in equity markets boosted the company’s asset management and wealth and investment units. The South Africafocused bank also said it expects its specialist banking businesses to report results for the year to March 31 ahead of the previous year, helped by the British unit. “The UK economy has been performing better than initially expected. However, the possibility of a hard Brexit continues to create uncertainty and could impact overall levels of economic growth,” the company said. Investec, which, along with more than a dozen other banks, is being investigated for colluding to rig the rand, said it had not yet received information on the precise allegations against it. Investec said last month that the Competition Commission’s case against the bank was confined to the conduct of a single trader. The company’s shares rose about 0.7 percent to trade at its highest price since July 2015. Over half of its 30-day average volumes were traded by 10.38 GMT on the London Stock Exchange. Investec said it expects its capital ratios – the percentage of a bank’s capital to riskweighted assets – to be within

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