Barclays Africa’s Kenya unit assured customers that it would not be shutting down and that their accounts were safe.
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He termed reports that the Barclays Plc was seeking to exit the African operations as mere media speculation.
Barclays Africa Group Limited is the majority (in some cases sole) shareholder of the BAGL operations in South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda and Tanzania (Barclays Bank Tanzania Limited and National Bank of Commerce Limited).
Barclays is expected to make a huge announcement on Tuesday, and many, including those who bank with Absa, which is owned by Barclays, are wondering what the news will be.
The bank, which owns about 62.3% of Barclays Africa, said it expects to update the market on Tuesday with its 2015 full year results.
“Your money is safe with us and you should not be concerned about the operation of your account. By delegating authority it avoided having to disclose the decision immediately”.
The MD moved to assure their customers that the bank will continue to grow the Kenyan business insisting that there are no plans at all to shut it down or cease operations.
One benefit of selling out of Africa is that it could address worries about Barclays’ capital.
Shortly afterwards BAGL also dismissed speculation that it will disinvest from Africa with a statement saying it was fully committed to its African operations.
Jefferies also crunched the numbers for what an African exit would look like, concluding that a full sale of the bank’s African business would improve the overall bank’s CET1 capital ratios by 83 basis points.
The sale of the business based in Africa will be discussed together with Barclays’ 2015 results, which will take place in the first week of March. “With an independent board and a separate listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange we are deeply rooted in Africa and remain firmly in control of our future”, says Maria Ramos, Barclays Africa Group Chief Executive Officer.
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Barclays Africa is an independently-listed entity on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, regulated by the South African Reserve Bank and we are well capitalised with a track record of strong returns.
