Boardroom Talk: New BN portfolio holding FirstRand drops 6% on AR release day. No need to panic.

FirstRand's share price dropped more than 6% yesterday, a nervy development because it came at the same time as SA's leading financial services group released its annual report. Fearing the worst, I scurried over to the online "glossy" (click here) to see what might have spooked investors.

That's no easy task. The report is 397 pages long, the proverbial haystack from which to discover one worrying needle. There wasn't one. If anything, the 'Prospects' section should be supporting rather than hurting the shares, with chairman Roger Jardine and CEO Alan Pullinger referring to accelerated lending and higher Net Interest Income for 2023.

Confused, I called our go-to man on banks, Denker's Kokkie Kooyman. He quickly set things straight. Tuesday was the cut-off date to qualify for 310c a share in dividends – a 185c final and 125c special divi. Wednesday's buyers will not participate. Take that out and the FirstRand share price drop was around 1%, unremarkable in this volatile era.

___STEADY_PAYWALL___