Barclays has transitioned and now trades as Absa Bank Kenya

by Enock Bett · February 11, 2020

Barclays Bank of Kenya has successfully transitioned to Absa Bank Kenya, a subsidiary of South Africa-based Absa Group Limited. The change follows the buying of controlling stake by Absa Group from the parent company, Barclay Africa, a move the Absa Group PLC CEO Maria Ramos termed as a bold step towards the right direction.

“This is a defining moment for Barclays Africa. We now have a significant opportunity to determine our own destiny and make our own decisions on what is right for a pan-African focused business,” read the CEO statement.

Barclays Bank Kenya is officially Absa Bank Kenya PLC. pic.twitter.com/rE6Izvy97C

— Absa Bank Kenya (@AbsaKenya) February 10, 2020

“Today we begin a new chapter as Absa Bank Kenya, adopting our new name and exciting brand while retaining our indelible commitment to Kenya and its people. This is a major milestone for our business, and we will be engaging stakeholders in the coming days to celebrate the successful launch of the Absa brand,” Absa Kenya Managing Director, Jeremy Awori said.

Barclays Bank’s history can be traced back to 100 years ago when the National Bank of South Africa established its first branch in Mombasa Kenya in 1916. It then merged with the British Anglo-Egyptian Bank and a Trinidad-based Colonial Bank prompting it to trade as Barclays Bank of Kenya in 1925. By 1968, the bank had 100 branches across the country.

In 1986, Barclays became the first commercial bank in Kenya to offer public ownership of shares selling over 30% to the public. Adan Mohamed was the first Kenyan to be appointed to the post of Managing Director of Barclays Bank in 2002 when the bank had 55 offices spread across Kenya with 435,000 accounts already active. In 2016 Barclays announced plans for a progressive reduction of its shareholding in Barclays Africa Group Ltd. The African financial service group, Absa would then buy the major stake and now owns about 68% of the shares.

The change to Absa will not, however, affect customers’ account details, and they will continue to do their banking transactions the same way they have been. There will be no fee changes associated with the new name and branches will continue to operate as usual, during the normal banking hours. Absa Bank of Kenya has started issuing new cards under the new brand name. The Barclays Bank cards will continue to work until their date of expiry.

The bank has changed its corporate logo and identity to match that of Absa Group PLC and all the social media handles of Barclay Bank like Facebook and Twitter have all been changed to Absa Bank Kenya. The bank has complied with all the regulatory requirements and has been approved to start operations effective February 10, 2020. Its insurance company Barclays Life Assurance Kenya Limited, has also changed to Absa Life Assurance Kenya Limited.

Absa Kenya now joins Ghana, Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana, Mauritius, and Seychelles that have also been switched from Barclays to the Absa. Absa Group PLC is listed on the JSE in South Africa and is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups with a presence in 12 countries across the continent and around 42, 000 employees.