Barclays said to be seeking suitor for Absa
It was being reported on Thursday that Barclays, the British bank, was actively looking for a suitor for its South African unit, Absa, after the recent merry-go-round at the country’s foreign ministry.
The Financial Times of London ran an article on Wednesday under the headline, ‘Barclays considers scaling back in Africa’, saying that the bank was “rethinking its near-century long presence in Africa as part of a review led by Jes Staley, its new chief executive”.
The article went on to say that Staley, who took the helm in December, had raised questions about the strategic fit of the “large African business” with the group, but that no decision had been taken yet. It added that the review “comes after investor confidence in South Africa was shaken by President Jacob Zuma’s decision to change his finance minister twice in less than a week when the economy is under severe stress”.
Barclays had not replied to ANA’s request for comment at the time of publishing.