Barclays, a British bank, has made the decision to exit its African operations and refocus on its core UK and US markets. The decision came after a review of the African business led by CEO Jes Staley. The decision was made by the Barclays board after the review stated that it makes strategic sense to exit the continent. Another committee will be examining practical ways on how and when to sell Barclays Africa Business.
"This means that a sale of the bank's 62.3 per cent stake in its Johannesburg-listed subsidiary will depend on numerous factors, including market conditions and the response of regulators. The stake is worth R78bn (£3.5bn) at current market prices. Investment bankers say there are no obvious strategic buyers for the African business. The value of the stake has fallen in recent months, making the option of steadily selling the stake to institutional investors less attractive. Barclays declined to comment," a report from the Financial Times state.
Furthermore, the FT reports states that Staley has met with some people and has said that while he recognizes Africa as one of Barclays' few genuine growth areas, he also believes that it is becoming a costly distraction.
Barclays has over 40,000 staff spread in Africa, according to Africa Post. These people are spread across 12 places in the countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Seychelles, Mauritius, Zambia, South Africa and Botswana.
Staley, according to reports published by The Guardian, has concluded that, "against a backdrop of a slowdown in Africa and the devaluation of the rand, it was time to consider a sale of the operations."
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. "Barclays is the last of the major high street banks to publish its figures and will be under scrutiny for signs of any deviation by Staley from the strategy set out his predecessor Antony Jenkins," the Guardian report states.
