"The underlying growth momentum in FNB, RMB and Aldermore remains strong, and WesBank continues to weather tough conditions," he said, referring to its retail division, corporate and investment bank, UK bank and car finance units respectively. Non-performing loans increased across a number of its businesses, which FirstRand attributed in most cases to growth in advances. At RMB, however, a 7% increase in NPLs reflected higher levels of corporate stress in South Africa, it said.