In a world that is slowly and surely being taken over by technology, we have to ask ourselves: ‘do the intricacies of what makes us human still matter’? It was this thought that became the driving force behind the creative campaign for the 2015 Barclays L’Atelier art competition.

On the 3rd of February 2015, major role-players in the South African art industry, members of the media and selected VIPs were invited – by none other than Stephan Welz, one of South Africa’s leading art experts – to be a part of history by witnessing the unveiling of a revolutionary piece of technology that would forever change the world of art.

Unique algorithm

Stephan Welz, together with the lead engineer and head technician involved in the development of this technology, officially unveiled ANÝ – a revolutionary machine that, at the touch of a button, could produce a piece of art in a matter of minutes. The engineers demonstrated how ANÝ tapped into a subject’s thoughts, feelings and emotions and, using a unique algorithm, translated these into style, technique and ultimately medium before producing a thought-provoking and intriguing piece of art.

As you can imagine, this rather upset the audience as they began to understand what this machine would mean for the world of artists; that ultimately, with ANÝ in existence, artists could become redundant. The prospect of ANÝ being mass-produced seemed possible and this realisation had outraged some of those present. Just before chaos erupted, Mr Welz calmly put everything into perspective.

Art needs people

He explained how this had all been a ruse, an elaborate stunt that hit home with an extremely poignant message: in our ever-changing world, the concept that technology can replace almost everything is not too far-fetched. This idea was to be the inspiration for the creative message for the 2015 Barclays L’Atelier art competition: art doesn’t need technology to survive. Art needs people. Art needs artists. Art needs you.

“The campaign reminds us how fundamentally important being human is to art,” says Dr. Paul Bayliss, Absa Art and Museum Curator. “Yes, machines can do almost everything, but the creative process relies on something that can never be replicated by technology: being human. Art is emotive, it is intuitive and its soul is intrinsically connected to the soul of its human creator. The L’Atelier art competition campaign this year is themed ‘Art Needs You’. We hope that this message will resonate with young visual artists who are passionate about their role in creating evocative works of art.”

A Risky Idea

“The campaign thought originated from our insight that art and the creation of art is intrinsically linked to our human emotions, intuition, passion and creative expression,” says Dana Cullinan, Creative Director at The Jupiter Drawing Room.

“In a world that is being constantly driven by technology, we wanted to create a campaign that would make artists feel a bit unnerved, yet inspired by the future of art and its survival. Although super-fictitious in its approach, we hope we are by no means predicting the future of art. The ‘Art Needs You’ campaign has the power to create self-belief in oneself as an artist and what an individual can create. This machine we have created will evoke a sense of perspective for the modern artist.”

Campaign Rationale

The campaign has three key objectives: to increase awareness of the competition in South Africa and Africa; to increase entries throughout South Africa and, for the first time, throughout Botswana, Zambia, Kenya and Ghana. Importantly, the campaign also commemorates the important 30th anniversary of the Barclays L’Atelier art competition.

The campaign was brought to life in two phases. The first was the event and it had two primary goals: to land the campaign message, “Art Needs You”, as well as to inspire the media and guests to spread this message and help uncover top young talent in the visual arts.

The second phase of the campaign is the call-to-entry. This phase consists of print, radio and digital media and will further entrench the message that art cannot exist without artists.

Name of the Machine

“We wanted to give the machine a very personal name, such as ‘Sophie’ or ‘Tim’, as we felt it would give the machine more personality and therefore make it more credible. Drawing on our campaign message, ‘Art Needs You’ we used the ‘A’ the ‘N’ and the ‘Y’ to create ANÝ. We then decided to pronounce it Annie, because she was ‘produced’ by a French engineer,” says Cullinan.

Summary

“It is fitting that this year we have adopted a ‘why not?’ approach. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the L’Atelier art competition. The world was never imagined from a technological perspective back then, thirty years ago,” concluded Cullinan.

The Creation of Art

Entries for the Barclays L’Atelier art competition are now open. This is also the first year that the competition will spread its roots beyond South Africa as we invite young artists from Botswana, Zambia, Ghana and Kenya to enter.

All young artists, self-taught or professionally trained, aged 21 to 35, who are residents and/ or citizens of these countries, are eligible to enter. Entry forms are located on the lateliercompetition.com website, and can be submitted until 6 March 2015.

Salient features

• Diluted headline earnings per share (HEPS) increased 10% to 1 537,5 cents.
• Declared a total dividend per share (DPS) of 925 cents, up 13%.
• Rest of Africa headline earnings grew 14% to R2,0 billion and South Africa rose 9% to R11,1 billion.
• Return on equity (RoE) improved to 16,7% from 15,5%.
• Pre-provision profit increased 5% to R27,3 billion.
• Revenue grew 6% to R63,1 billion, as net interest income increased 10% and non-interest income rose 2%, while operating expenses grew 7% to R35,8 billion.
• Credit impairments fell 10% to R6,3 billion, resulting in a 1,02% credit loss ratio from 1,20%.
• Barclays Africa Group Limited’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) of 11,9% remains above regulatory requirements and our Board targets.

Barclays Africa Group Limited (‘Barclays Africa’ or ‘the Group’) has delivered solid financial results for the year ended 31 December 2014 and is on track to deliver on its strategic priorities and financial commitments. The Group today reported a 10% increase in headline earnings to R13 billion from R11,8 billion in 2013 as pre-provision profit rose 5% to R27,3 billion and credit impairments declined by 10% to R6,3 billion.

Maria Ramos, Chief Executive of Barclays Africa Group, says:

“Our strategic execution is on track and we have delivered solid growth in our headline earnings in line with expectations. Demonstrable progress has been made towards meeting our ambitious financial commitments.”

“The Group has never been in a stronger position than it is today. These results clearly show that we have built a solid foundation and that we are building the ‘Go-To’ bank in Africa. We will keep improving our business in South Africa by picking up the pace on turning around RBB while simultaneously driving growth in our Corporate Bank and WIMI franchise across the continent. There is great upside in extracting more value from our existing portfolio so this is our main priority for 2015,” adds Maria Ramos.

The Group declared a 13% higher total ordinary dividend per share of 925 cents given its strong Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) levels and internal capital generation. This further demonstrates the sustainable returns created for our shareholders, which is also reflected in the Barclays Africa share price, which has appreciated by 47.2% in the past 12 months (to end February), and the R21 billion in dividends declared over the past two years.

During the period under review, Retail and Business Banking’s (RBB) headline earnings increased 9% to R8,3 billion, due largely to lower credit impairments and a strong performance by Business Banking South Africa. Home Loans’ earnings jumped 78% to R1,8 billion as credit impairments fell 51%.

Corporate and Investment Bank’s headline earnings grew 16% to R3,9 billion led by a 24% increase in earnings growth by Corporate. Markets net revenue increased 17% on the back of strong growth in Fixed Income and Credit, Equities and Prime Services. CIB’s South African earnings grew 9% while Rest of Africa increased 38%.

Headline earnings from Wealth, Investment Management and Insurance (WIMI) decreased 3% to R1,4 billion. A decline in headline earnings from the Life Insurance business offset a modest increase in earnings from Wealth and Investment Management and the solid returns produced by Short-term Insurance and Fiduciary Services. WIMI’s headline earnings outside South Africa increased by 36%.

The Group’s earnings remain well diversified by business and product line. RBB accounted for 61% of Group headline earnings (excluding head office, eliminations and other central items) while CIB contributed 29% and WIMI 10%.

Barclays has been recognised for its innovative approach to extending financial services to village savings groups in Uganda at the Corporate Entrepreneur Awards held at the World Trade Centre in New York on Tuesday.

Run by MarketGravity, the awards recognize game changing innovation and entrepreneurship from within large companies. Barclays took top honours in the ‘Social Impact’ category which recognises corporate innovation that has had a positive social or environmental impact.

In Uganda, more than 80 percent of the population is unbanked and half of all households lack access to financial services of any kind. Financial exclusion reinforces the cycle of poverty by limiting access to healthcare, education and employment. This forces many people to keep their money in unsecure places, increasing the risk of loss or theft.

Barclays, Grameen Foundation and CARE International UK launched two mobile applications to help families in Uganda gain better access to financial services; helping them in turn to increase and manage their incomes. In the pilot to date, Barclays Uganda has linked 270 savings groups, providing over 9,000 individuals with access to financial services, representing a portfolio of over $400,000 in savings.

Corporate Entrepreneur Awards judges said that the project “ties closely into top-line growth for Barclays whilst addressing a fundamental issue in Africa.”

On receiving the award, Mark Thain, Barclays, said “It’s a sobering fact that more than half of the world’s working adults are excluded from financial services. Providing the unbanked with basic financial services access through mobile technology enables them to plan and invest for the future, save money securely and protect themselves against unforeseen events.”

For more information on the award, please visit:

• http://marketgravity.com/blog-item/2014-corporate-entrepreneur-award-winners

The Corporate and Investment Banking division of Barclays Africa Group Limited (Barclays Africa) acted as the sell-side advisor to the state-owned Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in the sale of Mainstreet Bank to Skye Bank. The deal is the largest acquisition of an African bank in 2014.

“This is a landmark achievement for AMCON and the Nigerian banking industry,” said Stephen van Coller, Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking at Barclays Africa. “Barclays Africa is pleased to have helped AMCON realise its ambitions, and we remain committed to expanding African financial markets and to delivering world-class financial services across the continent.”

AMCON was established in 2010 to efficiently resolve the non-performing loan assets of the banks in Nigeria, acquire distressed Nigerian banks and stabilise the industry after the Nigerian debt crisis. AMCON separated the toxic assets of the affected banks and injected capital into the businesses in order to restore them to profitability. As part of this process, AMCON took over the assets of three banks that were considered particularly distressed and housed their revitalised assets in three new banking entities, namely Mainstreet Bank, Keystone Bank and Enterprise Bank.

Mainstreet Bank created

Mainstreet Bank was created to house the assets and some liabilities of the defunct Afribank Plc and establish a viable enterprise. The restructure included staff-reorientation, recruitment of new staff, branch modernisation, and migration to an upgraded core banking software package.

The revitalised bank currently services approximately 1.9m customers in Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Commercial Banking and Treasury through a distribution network of 201 branches, nine cash centres and 200 ATMs.

Barclays Africa acted as joint sell-side advisor in partnership with Afrinvest West Africa, a Nigerian firm involved in investment banking, securities trading, asset management and investment research in West Africa.

Only global advisor

“As the only global advisor involved in the transaction, Barclays Africa, in enabling AMCON’s vision, was able to draw on its resources and pull together a bespoke team to provide international best practice in concert with deep local expertise,” added van Coller.

The Barclays team advising on the sale of Mainstreet Bank comprised professionals from the global financial institutions team as well as Lagos and Johannesburg based corporate finance and M&A teams.

In conjunction with the global Barclays team and industry coverage bankers, Barclays Africa provides strategic advisory services on acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, leveraged buyouts, takeover defence, special committee assignments and exclusive sales across the continent. Barclays Africa’s track record of delivering strategic advisory services in Africa was recently recognised when the bank was named the ‘Best Investment Bank in Africa’ and ‘Best M&A House in Africa’ at the Euromoney 2014 Awards for Excellence.

Sustainable competition

“As represented by the Mainstreet Bank deal, consolidation of the banking industry in Nigeria is creating more sustainable competition in the market and repositioning the industry to meet national and global economic challenges,” added Hasnen Varawalla, Head of Corporate Finance, Barclays Africa.

The transaction is dependent upon conditions precedent and approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Barclays Africa is committed to making a positive impact on society. Creating prosperity for our customers, colleagues and stakeholders is at the heart of our purpose as a bank. This is because we believe that by becoming the enabler of more inclusive economic growth we will ensure the sustainability of our own business, the communities we serve and the countries in which we operate.

Barclays Africa today launched a report which shows that, while Africa is experiencing unprecedented and exponential economic growth, Africans equate prosperity to achieving financial freedom by having enough personal wealth to live, without having to actively work to pay for basic necessities.

The 2014 Barclays Africa Prosper Report carries the results of a survey commissioned by Barclays Africa in which 7 000 people from 11 countries were asked what it means to ‘prosper’. The survey provides invaluable insights into what is important to people, their dreams and aspirations – essential intelligence if we are to contribute to building strong and sustainable economies on the continent.

The results are fascinating, and underscore the fact that Africa’s rising middle-class is effecting positive economic and socio-political transformation. What is particularly noteworthy is that nearly 80% of the respondents are between the ages of 18 and 35. This is significant because Africa has one of the highest youth populations in the world.

The findings will contribute to the growing body of knowledge about Africa’s socio-economic trends – specifically as it relates to prosperity and the financial aspirations of ordinary people. Gaining deeper insights enables all stakeholders to respond in ways that that can better enable the continent to fulfil its potential.

Watch the Barclays Africa Prosper report video

Named best FX Products (Overall) by clients

Barclays Africa has been named the top overall bank in the Risk South Africa Rankings 2014 survey for the fifth consecutive year.

“Maintaining our position as the top overall bank in South Africa, as voted by our clients, is an affirmation of the relevance of our client-centric approach and how it helps our clients realise their ambitions,“ said Stephen van Coller, Chief Executive of the Corporate and Investment Banking division of Barclays Africa.

In addition to the top investment bank award, Barclays Africa retained its first position ranking in FX Products (Overall) as well as Forward Rate Agreements, Repurchase Agreements, FX Options (US dollar/Rand), FX Forwards (US dollar/Rand), FX Swaps (US dollar/Rand), Credit Default Swaps, and Structured Products.

The bank also claimed first place in a new Delta One Products category and improved from second place to first in Interest Rate Exotics.

“We have a compelling advantage in Corporate and Investment Banking and it is a key segment for the group. This is a clear testament to the benefit that our clients are gaining through the combination of local presence and global expertise that only Barclays can provide on the African continent,” added Van Coller.

The poll is divided into four different sections: interest rate; currency; equity; and others (credit, commodities, structured products and sub-Saharan markets). All of the awards are based on the votes of dealers, brokers,

Accolades continue following recent win as ‘Best Investment Bank in Africa’

Following its recent awards for ‘Best Investment Bank in Africa’ and ‘Best M&A House in Africa’, Barclays Africa has now been named ‘Best Domestic Cash Management House’ in six African countries by the prestigious global news publication Euromoney.

Barclays Africa received the award for the first time in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as for the third time in the UK. The impressive series of accolades underscores the group’s dynamic, client-orientated corporate and investment banking offering across the continent.

The Euromoney Cash Management Survey is the most comprehensive guide to the cash management arena in the market, recognising leadership in cash management across a range of markets and criteria. It is widely considered the benchmark survey for the global cash management industry.

The winner is selected by leading cash managers, treasurers and financial officers worldwide. This year, Euromoney received a record 24,442 responses.

“We are honoured to be recognised by our clients as the best domestic cash house in six African markets,” said Stephen van Coller, Chief Executive of the Corporate and Investment Banking division of Barclays Africa. “This is a clear testament to the benefit that our clients are gaining through the combination of local presence and global expertise that only Barclays can provide on the African continent.”

Barclays Africa maintains an offering built on excellent client penetration and service, market-leading technology, and the strength and breadth of its products. Demonstrating the group’s ongoing commitment to providing state-of-the-art technology to clients, Barclays Africa is upgrading its Corporate Banking offering through the rollout of Barclays.Net and File Gateway across Africa, which will help to simplify and streamline the client experience. In addition, standardised payments infrastructure is also currently being implemented.

“Just one year after establishing Barclays Africa Group, these awards symbolise a significant milestone in our journey to become the ‘Go-To’ bank in Africa for our clients,” added van Coller. “We have a compelling advantage in Corporate and Investment Banking and it is a key segment for the group. We are making the requisite investments to drive its growth to ensure that we deliver on the targets and commitments we made to the market and our clients.”

Barclays’ unique cash management capabilities, combined with financing, risk management, advisory and investment banking services played a role in winning the award.

Barclays Africa Group announces the appointment of Francis Okomo-Okello and Alex Darko to the Board as independent non-executive directors with effect from 1 October 2014 to reflect the Pan-African nature of the Group. Additionally, Brand Pretorius has decided to step down from the Board having served as a non-executive director since 2009. Brand will continue as chairman of the Group Remuneration and Human Resources Committee (GRHRC) and as a member of the Directors’ Affairs Committee and the Social and Ethics Committee until 31 October 2014.

Commenting about the Board changes, Wendy Lucas-Bull, Chairman of Barclays Africa Group, said: “In line with our previously stated intention to appoint two additional Board members to reflect the Pan-African nature of the Group, it gives me great pleasure to welcome Francis and Alex to our Board.

They bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise and we look forward to their contributions. I also wish to thank Brand for his dedication, insight and wisdom during his tenure on the Board. Brand has decided to dedicate more time to both his community work and his family. He has made a significant contribution to both Absa and Barclays Africa Group and we shall miss his counsel when he leaves us at the end of October.”

On his decision to step down from the Barclays Africa Group Board, Brand said: “Over the past five years, I have enjoyed a rich, rewarding time as a member of the Absa and Barclays Africa boards. This was an exceedingly difficult decision for me to make but the time has come for me to focus on my leadership mentoring and coaching portfolio, the various community activities that I am involved in but more importantly, to commit more time to my wife and family, particularly my seven grandchildren.

I would like to thank Barclays Africa for entrusting me with such a stimulating responsibility and the opportunity to be part of its journey in becoming the ‘Go-To’ Bank in Africa.”

Mohamed Husain, Chairman of the Social and Ethics Committee and a member of both the Group Audit and Compliance and the Directors’ Affairs Committees, will succeed Brand as chairman of the GRHRC.

About Francis Okomo-Okello

Francis is the current chairman of Barclays Bank of Kenya Limited (Barclays Kenya). He holds an LLB Honours degree from the University of Dar-es-Salaam and is an Albert Parvin fellow of Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, and a fellow of The Kenya Institute of Bankers. He serves as chairman of TPS Eastern Africa Limited (Serena Group of Hotels and Lodges), and as a non-executive director of the Nation Media Group.

Currently, Francis is the Executive Director in charge of Legal and Corporate Affairs at Industrial Promotion Services Group of Companies, an affiliate of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Strathmore Business School, Strathmore University, Nairobi and is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Aga Khan University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences – East Africa.

About Alex Darko

Alex is a seasoned executive with over 30 years international management experience. He holds an MSc in management information systems and is a fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants. He held senior positions in finance, re-engineering, change management and IT in Europe, the USA and Africa; in areas such as business information, publishing, mining and the public sector.

Alex was Vice President, Knowledge and Information (Chief Information Officer) at AngloGold Ashanti Limited from 2005 to 2010 and was responsible for the Group’s Information Systems and Telecommunications function. Alex also serves on the Boards of Business Connexion Limited, Consolidated Infrastructure Group Limited and Mazor Group Limited

Barclays Africa commits to powering Africa

Barclays Africa Group Ltd (Barclays Africa) today announced it has committed a minimum of US$500 million to a pipeline of proposed clean power projects that form part of the “Power Africa” initiative. This will increase the available power by up to 12 500 MWs in countries that participate in the programme. The aim of the initiative, which was launched last year by US President Barack Obama, is to improve access to electricity on the continent.

Several countries across Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Ethiopia, are taking part in the initiative to improve access to clean, reliable power for about 20 million new households and companies by 2018. According to recent reports, the scale of investment needed to achieve universal energy access in sub-Saharan Africa is about US$15 billion a year, every year through to 2030.

Leading role

Over the past number of years, Barclays Africa has played a leading role as a partner to developers and to other banks on energy projects that span almost all the countries where it has a presence across the continent.

According to Stephen van Coller, Chief Executive of the corporate and investment banking division of Barclays Africa, the company’s extensive experience, gained over many years, positions it well to support the expected growth in the energy sector on the continent. “Barclays Africa has a long-standing reputation in Africa, playing a significant role in realising African governments’ ambitions of sustainable and independent power supply,” says van Coller.

In November last year, Barclays Africa secured mandates to provide ZAR10.8 billion worth of debt funding to a total of six projects, including Wind, Solar PV and Concentrated Solar Power under the South African government’s third Independent Power Producer (IPP) Procurement round. The breadth of projects demonstrates Barclays Africa’s sector expertise. The biggest transaction was the Department of Energy IPP Peakers Power Project which was awarded Africa Power Deal of the Year for 2013 by Project Finance Magazine as well as African Renewable Energy Deal of the Year for 2013 by Project Finance International Magazine.

Focus on leadership

“Our sector focus and leadership demonstrates that we are well positioned to realise our vision of being the ’Go-To‘ corporate and investment bank in Africa,” says Philip Lindop, head of Investment Banking at Barclays Africa. “We expect the energy sector to continue to grow further in the coming decade. Given the need for power on the African continent, combined with increasing knowledge of and experience in how to execute these transactions, we expect that Barclays Africa will remain well positioned to partner with our clients in realising their ambitions,” added Lindop.