Absa Group

Barclays Africa Group

Type	Public
Traded as	JSE: BGA
Industry	Banking, Financial services, Investment services, Insurance services
Founded	1991: as Amalgamated Banks of South Africa Limited 2013: as Barclays Africa Group Limited
Headquarters	Johannesburg, South Africa
Area served	Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia
Key people	Wendy Lucas-Bull (Group Chairman) Maria Ramos (Group Chief Executive)
Products	Commercial banking, Financial services, Retail banking, Credit cards, Private equity, Investment management, Investment banking
Revenue	R67.19 billion (2015)
Operating income	R21.30 billion (2015)
Net income	R15.40 billion (2015)
Total assets	R1.14 trillion (2015)
Total equity	R98.64 billion (2015)
Owner	Barclays plc (50.1%)
Number of employees	33,879 (permanent) (2013)
Subsidiaries	Absa Bank
Website	www.barclaysafrica.com

Barclays Africa Group Limited (JSE: BGA), formerly ABSA Group Limited originally Amalgamated Banks of South Africa, is a South African subsidiary of Barclays Bank Plc; it is a financial services provider, offering personal and business banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management as well as bancassurance. ABSA Bank Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays Africa Group.

Barclays Africa Group Limited is 62.3% owned by Barclays Bank PLC and is listed on the JSE Limited. The group is one of Africa’s major financial services providers offering personal and business banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management, and Bancassurance.

The group was formed through combining Absa Group Limited and Barclays’ African operations on 31 July 2013. Reflecting the enlarged group’s pan-African focus, the group's name changed from Absa Group Limited, to Barclays Africa Group Limited on 2 August 2013. Registered head offices are in South Africa and the group has majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (Barclays Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia. The group has representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria, and Bancassurance operations in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. Barclays Bank Kenya and Barclays Bank Botswana continue to be listed on their respective stock exchanges. Barclays Bank PLC has operations in Egypt and Zimbabwe, which are part of the African business and continue to be run by Barclays Africa Group’s management. Absa is a signatory of the South African Financial Sector Charter.

Absa was founded in 1991 through the merger of financial service providers United Bank (South Africa), the Allied Bank (South Africa), the Volkskas Bank Group and certain interests of the Sage Group. The following year, Absa acquired the entire shareholding of the Bankorp Group which included Trustbank, Senbank and Bankfin, thereby extending its asset base further. In the early years of this union, each bank operated under its own name. In 1998 they were fused into one single brand. A year later, Absa adopted a new corporate identity and the name was changed into Absa Group Limited.

To cement the union achieved in 1998, Absa decided to adopt a single brand and provide an array of financial services offering "simple, uncomplicated banking relationships, value for money, stability, convenience and superior customer service".