In conversation with Marlene Pillay
STANDARD BANK
at Standard Bank, South Africa’s largest bank overseeing assets worth R3.4trn. The bank’s exposure, through its financing activities, is broadly diversified across office, retail and industrial real estate, alongside specialised asset classes like data centres, student accommodation and storage.
“I’ve always been agnostic about sectors I’m passionate about and choose to work in,” says Marlene. “For me, it’s not about the sector, because I think we all have the skill and the capability to learn one. The sector is just the context.” This agnosticism is central to her approach to the property portfolio
“It’s not that we do everything,” she clarifies. “But our mandate is not limited. What’s quite important is to ensure that if you want to optimise your portfolio from a lending perspective, it’s about balancing risk and opportunity. You need to think of short-term performance, but you also need to think of long-term portfolio construction and resilience.”
Navigating the cycle: from volatility to stability Marlene frames the recent years as a period of necessary “recalibration and response” for the property sector, which has gone through a prolonged period of strain. The sector faced high interest rates, muted demand, weak confidence and the
Property Portfolio Summary Selected properties from Standard Bank's property portfolio
Accra Financial Centre
GLA : 15,000 m 2 retail development Key Tenants : Shoprite, Game, MRP Location: Accra, Ghana Completed : 2015
GLA : 14,000 m 2 office development Key Tenants : Agricultural Development Bank and FNB Location: Accra, Ghana Completed : 2014
GLA : 11,000 m 2 retail development Key Tenants : Shoprite, Decathlon Location: Accra, Ghana Completed : 2014
GLA : 19,000m 2 office development Key Tenants : Stanbic Ghana, Oracle, Samsung and GE Location: Accra, Ghana Completed : 2013
October 2025 | Issue 141 | Asset Magazine 147
146 Asset Magazine | Issue 141 | October 2025
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