A local fixtureTHE chairman of Barclays, a big British bank, was asked in a conference call last year whether the firm might draw back its investment in its listed African subsidiary. Actually, he replied, “we would probably be biased to own more than less.” Yet on March 1st Jes Staley, Barclays’ CEO since December, announced that it hopes to reduce its 62% stake in Barclays Africa over the next two or three years, to focus on its main business in Britain and America.
On the face of things, the reversal is surprising. Barclays has been in Africa for over a century. Its blue eagle logo can be found in shopping centres from Nairobi to Lagos. Moreover, Barclays Africa made a healthy return on equity of 17% last year. It has grown quickly in recent years and plans to keep doing so. Over the past year it has acquired licences of various sorts in Ghana and Nigeria and part of an insurance business in Kenya. This will continue despite the sale of Barclays’ stake, Maria Ramos, Barclays Africa’s CEO, insisted this week.
But Barclays is one of the most weakly capitalised big Western banks. As well as the sale of...Continue reading
Source: Business and finance http://ift.tt/1QuqSjr
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