Barclays eyes Nigeria after selling SA shares

Barclays Bank says it is looking to further expand in Nigeria, despite moving to sell off a majority of its shares in South Africa.

The Barclays Africa Group Ltd, its African subsidiary, also said there is no lack of interest from buyers seeking a stake in South Africa’s third-largest lender.

With the bank looking to reduce its 62.3 percent holding to less than 20 percent, David Hodnett, Barclays Africa deputy chief executive officer, said the London-based bank’s shares won’t be “sold in the short term and a number of players will have a say in the process”.

“It’s too soon to speculate on how the British bank will sell its stock… regulators will be looking for investors who offer long-term stability,” Hodnett was quoted by Bloomberg to have said.

While the two companies – Barclays bank and Barclays Africa – will still operate an investment-banking joint venture, the African unit’s work with multinational corporations and its cash-equities business may be impacted by the parent’s withdrawal.

“The investment bank still has room to grow and Barclays Africa wants to expand further in Nigeria while searching for insurance assets in Ghana as part of a strategy to be among the largest banks on the continent,” Hodnett said.

Jes Staley, the bank’s CEO, is cutting about 1,200 investment-bank jobs, restructuring its management and reducing dividend payments after fourth-quarter adjusted pretax profit, including reorganization costs, fell 56 percent.

Barclays said on March 1 that it planned to sell down its interest in the Johannesburg-based lender, formerly known as Absa, over the next two to three years, to reduce demands on the capital it needs to set aside for controlling the company.

The British bank bought Absa, now Barclays Africa, in 2005 and in 2013 acquired its parent’s operations in eight African countries.

This gave Barclays Africa a presence in 12 nations on the continent and more than 12 million customers.

In Nigeria, the bank offers “international banking, as well as wealth and investment management, and corporate and investment banking through Absa Bank representative office”.