Today we officially embark on the exciting journey of becoming the ‘Go-To’ bank in Africa.

The combination of the majority of the Barclays Africa businesses with Absa was the next logical step in delivering our “One Africa” strategy, which Barclays PLC announced last year. We have already consolidated the regional offices for Absa Africa and Barclays Africa, as well as introduced a global product strategy for banking across the continent. The combination of the businesses will mirror the managerial and operational structure we have already put in place.

We are tremendously excited by the opportunities for growth in Africa. We are wholeheartedly committed to our businesses across Africa and this combination will help us to leverage the significant potential of these businesses. It will provide a platform for further growth that we firmly believe will be to the benefit of our colleagues, our customers and clients, our shareholders and the communities in which we operate.

This exciting and transformational deal creates a high-quality franchise in Africa with a leading network of more than 1,300 outlets and 10,400 ATMs across ten countries.

This is a momentous achievement for Barclays in Africa. The deal marks an extraordinary milestone that sets us firmly on course to become the ‘Go-To’ bank on the continent. It means that we can accelerate Africa’s true global potential by supporting the development of capital markets and providing a greater range of financial services on the continent.

We have created one of the leading banking groups in Africa, strengthening our geographic footprint and increasing our growth opportunities on the continent. By capitalising on our heritage and seizing the opportunity in some of the fastest growing economies in the world, we are well positioned to win in Africa.

In the quest to improve financial inclusion on the continent, Absa and Barclays have become actively involved in the sixth African Microfinance Conference. Representatives from more than 25 African countries will attend the conference from 12 -15 August 2013 at the Durban International Convention Centre.

Access to formal financial services by low income earners and the poor remains a challenge for more than 80% of the people living in Africa. Many factors contribute to the challenge of access, including cost to clients when interacting with formal financial institutions. At this conference, representatives will discuss these challenges and search for solutions that will benefit the end user.

As main sponsors, Absa and Barclays will optimise this platform to showcase their innovative products and services that are aimed at this sector. The conference also provides a forum to identify the opportunities and challenges within each country.

Craig Bond, Chief Executive Retail and Business Banking will represent Absa and Barclays at the opening panel discussion. He will be joined by senior government representatives and other dignitaries.

Gideon Serfontein, Head: Barclays Africa Citizenship will deliver a key note address at the Gala dinner, outlining Barclays Africa Groups’ citizenship efforts on the continent.

Barclays and Absa’s Inclusive Banking services and products will be on display at the conference.

Through this involvement, they aim to help promote financial inclusion by providing easy-to-understand information speedily and transparently, addressing the needs of customers on the continent.

Using the insights and identifying the challenges emerging through events like these, the Barclays Africa Group aims to move forward with its goal of becoming the “Go-To” bank on the African continent.

Absa Group reports 8% increase in HEPS; sets out investment in revenue growth.

Absa Group today reported an 8% increase in headline earnings to R4 663 million from R4 313 million and improved its return on average equity (RoE) to 14,0% from 13,7%. The financial services group declared a special ordinary dividend of 708 cents per share and increased its interim ordinary dividend by 11% to 350 cents per share.

Key drivers of the results

• Retail and Business Banking’s headline earnings increased 48%, due to lower credit impairments and continued cost containment.
• Financial Services’ headline earnings increased 5%.
• Maintained strong liquidity position, growing deposits due to customers 7% or by R32 billion to R490 billion.

Maria Ramos, Group Chief Executive of Absa and CEO of Barclays Africa, said: “We made a number of undertakings to the market for 2013 that we have delivered on. Specifically, we have announced a momentous milestone having concluded our transformational Barclays Africa acquisition, while also returning surplus capital to shareholders through a special dividend. In addition, we said we would focus on efficiency. Our well-contained cost base in the first half of 2013 demonstrates our sustainable efficiency drive.”

Good progress

We have made good progress in improving our credit quality after last year’s elevated impairments. On a like-for-like basis, our first half charge for 2013 dropped 24% or by R1 billion and did so while we improved our non-performing loan cover noticeably to 39%.

Although our credit loss ratio has increased in our unsecured retail books, the rise was off a low base and is in line with our expectations. We have maintained our loan momentum in selective areas, having restored our loan production in the second half of last year. Crucially, we did not increase our overall credit risk appetite to improve our loan growth.

We also committed to improving our top-line growth this year, which came in at a modest 3% and remains challenging in a less supportive macro environment than we expected. We have made solid headway from a revenue growth perspective in: life insurance and investments; corporate and investment banking; merchant income in retail banking; and electronic banking for business clients.

Clear strategy

It is important to note that in order to improve our revenue growth, we will be increasing our investment spend, while balancing this with cost reduction initiatives elsewhere.

In particular, Retail and Business Banking is implementing a clear strategy to improve its growth over the next three years. We have regained traction on the lending front and slowed customer attrition by launching our Value Bundles and Rewards programme in the past year.

However, our transactional banking franchise is taking longer to regain momentum than expected. In response, we are improving our products, pricing and processes, to give customers a fundamentally better experience.

We will work closely with the Barclays teams in the UK and the US to accelerate our product and customer service innovation. Increasing our alignment with Barclays has allowed us to launch innovations such as our banking app, Pingit and tap-‘n-go cards, at a low cost.

Refresh branch network

We are also refreshing and repositioning our physical and digital channels. We have re-engineered our core customer processes and launched the first of our new branches in Hyde Park in Johannesburg last month. We will roll out 35 of these in South Africa and 25 in the rest of Africa by year-end. We plan to invest R1,2 billion by 2015 to refresh our branch network and will also strengthen our ATM network in South Africa, which is the largest in the country.

Says Ramos: “While the operating environment remains tough and revenue growth is still challenging, cost containment remains on track and credit quality has improved. The completed Barclays Africa deal will provide access to markets with robust growth and positions us to seize opportunities in Africa. We remain on course to build momentum by investing in revenue growth.”

Challenging macro-economic environment

Looking ahead, we are operating in a challenging macro-economic environment, particularly in South Africa, where we expect moderate GDP growth of about 2% this year and 3% next year. However, we see stronger growth in the rest of Africa, with over 5% GDP growth in Sub-Saharan Africa this year.

“Africa is important to the group, as one in three of Barclays employees works in Africa and we are the group’s largest region after the UK and US, contributing 11% of Barclays first half 2013 profit before tax. We are well positioned to win in Africa, by leveraging this strong platform and Barclays global resources. I have every confidence that we have the right strategy and the right team to become Africa’s ‘Go-To’ bank,” concludes Ramos.

Financial services groups Barclays and Absa and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust today announced the launch of a global fundraising awareness campaign to raise funds towards the construction of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.

The hospital is a unique project in that capital funding is being raised entirely from donors, while operational expenditure will be provided by the South African government, through the National Department of Health.

Members of the public that would like to contribute towards the hospital’s building costs can do so at Absa and Barclays branches in South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and the United Kingdom. Absa and Barclays have also waived all administration fees so that the Trust is paid the full donated amount.

Once completed, the hospital will help to address a very real need in Southern Africa as the region suffers from a shortage of dedicated paediatric facilities, with only four such facilities on the continent – two in Cairo, one in Nairobi and one in Cape Town. Admissions to the hospital will be open to all children from the SADC region.

Viable solutions

The Hospital will be located in Johannesburg, South Africa. Johannesburg is an economic and transportation hub in the SADC region, and is centrally located to meet its mandate of serving the region’s population. The project is entering the final development phase, with commissioning and opening of the Hospital expected for October 2015.

“It is a shared imperative of Absa and Barclays to create viable solutions to help address social challenges. Acting as a conduit to raise funds for a cause as noble as Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust, is central to our commitment to making Citizenship real for all of our stakeholders,” says Bobbie Malabie, Absa Group and Barclays Africa Executive responsible for Marketing, Communications, Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Malabie adds: “For us, Citizenship means understanding the needs of our stakeholders and making decisions – in the short – and long-term that will positively impact our clients and customers, as well as the communities in which we operate. This is a fundamental part of becoming the ‘Go-To’ bank in Africa.”

Progress on the establishment of the Hospital is on track, with building planned to commence in the third quarter of this year. Completion date is set for 2015.

Living memorial

“A highly skilled technical task team is working hard to meet these deadlines,” says Sibongile Mkhabela, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust.

While the world’s economic climate has hampered fundraising efforts, the hospital trust has already raised approximately R250 million of the R1 billion target required to build and equip the hospital, as well as train medical professionals to work in it.

The hospital will be a living memorial to Nelson Mandela. It will also be a centre of excellence and a specialist referral hospital catering for children who need long-term care.

“Millions of these children suffer from life-threatening illnesses and have little or no chance of receiving the specialised care they need. The hospital will be unique in one more way – no child will be turned away due to an inability to pay,” says Mkhabela.

Huge gap

“The Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust is extremely proud to be a vehicle for raising and mobilising funds to plan and build the hospital. At the appropriate time we will appoint an operating company, called the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, to oversee the running of the hospital,” says Mkhabela.

One in five South African children has long-term serious health conditions. This hospital will fill a huge gap in the country’s health-care programme. It will not compete with, but will complement, other hospitals and their work in paediatric work.

Absa Group Limited (“Absa”) today announced that the combination of Absa with Barclays African businesses had cleared the final hurdle, opening the way for this transformational deal to be delivered on 31 July 2013.

The necessary conditions have been fulfilled (or, where appropriate, waived) to conclude the combination of Barclays Africa and Absa, including regulatory approvals in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Commenting on the development, Absa Group Chief Executive and Barclays Chief Executive Africa Maria Ramos said: “This is a momentous achievement for Barclays in Africa. The deal marks an extraordinary milestone that sets us firmly on course to become the ‘Go-To’ bank on the continent. It means that we can accelerate Africa’s true global potential by supporting the development of capital markets and providing a greater range of financial services on the continent.”

Reflecting the enlarged group’s pan-Africa focus, Absa Group Limited will change its name to Barclays Africa Group Limited on 2 August 2013. The Absa brand will still be used in South Africa while the strong Barclays brand will remain elsewhere.

Strengthened footprint

Barclays will hold 62.3% of Barclays Africa Group Limited through the issue of 129.5 million ordinary shares by Absa, representing a value of approximately R18.3billion.2 Barclays Bank Kenya Limited and Barclays Bank Botswana will continue to be listed on their respective stock exchanges.

“As we previously announced, Egypt and Zimbabwe are not included in this transaction but they remain an integral part of our African business and we will continue to run them on an operational basis, Maria Ramos added.

She concludes: “We have created one of the leading banking groups in Africa, strengthening our geographic footprint and increasing our growth opportunities on the continent. By capitalising on our heritage and seizing the opportunity in some of the fastest growing economies in the world, we are well positioned to win in Africa.”

1. With the exception of National Bank of Commerce (NBC) in Tanzania and Absa’s representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria.
2. As set out in the circular to shareholders dated 14 December 2012

Barclays Mauritius has already experienced a 50% increase in the use of eStatements this year.

As a global organisation, Barclays constantly strives to deliver a superior customer experience and embraces progressive technology to accomplish this goal. Striata’s electronic statement solution was found to complement these objectives perfectly. This led to Barclays Mauritius being the first of many Barclays Africa banks to go live with this innovative solution from Striata, global provider of electronic bill and payment solutions.

Barclays successfully implemented Striata’s eStatement solution in its Consumer and Corporate Banking divisions and has already experienced a 50% increase in the use of eStatements this year. It now also offers credit card customers this convenient solution. Striata’s ‘push’ email solutions are suited to all market types, including emerging markets such as Mauritius, as all that is required from the customer is a valid email address. Barclays is also committed to the reduction of its carbon footprint. Going paperless has helped contribute to its environmental conservation efforts.

“Barclays is committed to continually developing innovative solutions to make our customers’ experience of banking more convenient and user friendly. Delivering statements via email offer them a far more convenient solution than the current postal system allows. Striata’s Secure Push eStatement solution also improves efficiencies, is an eco-friendly, paperless channel and has helped us realize immediate, cost savings,” says Nathan Carr, Chief Operating Officer of Barclays Bank Mauritius Limited.

Michael Wright, CEO of Striata, explains that Striata’s eStatements are created as a secure, encrypted PDF email attachment and can only be accessed through the use of a shared secret – a combination of personal and customer banking data.

Security of the eStatement is fundamentally two-factor authentication; recipients need access to their email inbox, as well as knowledge of the shared secret. Security is further enhanced by the decryption process, which is offline and local to the recipient’s computer – providing Barclay’s customers with peace of mind that their eStatement is totally secure.

Customers who wish to receive statements issued through this new secure process should contact their local branch.

Barclays Bank of Uganda Limited introduced Worldmiles, a unique airline-independent membership programme for Premier Banking customers with Platinum debit cards. Worldmiles allows Barclays Premier customers to earn and redeem miles on any airline of their choice across the globe on purchases made using their Platinum debit cards.

The Barclays Bank of Uganda Limited Managing Director, Charles Ongwae said, “The Worldmiles programme is one of the ways in which we are helping our customers achieve their ambitions.”

Barclays Premier customers who use their Platinum debit cards to pay for purchases, will now earn Worldmiles, which they can spend against reward flights with any airline, to any destination in the world. For every shilling a customer spends using their platinum debit card, they earn one Worldmile.

After a customer has collected 10 000 000 and more Worldmiles, these can be redeemed against an airline ticket up to the value of UGX 100 000. Every additional 100 Worldmiles earn a customer one shilling towards flight ticket purchases. Customers can also purchase airline tickets with a combination of Worldmiles and cash, paying the difference using their Platinum debit cards.

Besides the Worldmiles programme, Barclays Platinum debit cardholders enjoy benefits like using their debit card to pay for purchases at VISA-enabled point of sale terminals, VISA global customer assistance, medical and legal referral, purchase protection and access to a range of hotels and leisure facilities on preferential terms.

“Our aim is to provide all our customers with a great banking experience that

Absa Group Limited confirms that it received notice that Mr Pravin Gordhan, South Africa’s Minister of Finance, has approved the combination of the majority of Barclays Africa operations with Absa. This follows overwhelming support for the strategic transaction from Absa minority shareholders in February.

Maria Ramos, Chief Executive, Absa, Chief Executive Africa, Barclays said: “We welcome the approval by Minister Gordhan. This is an important milestone in the transaction in furtherance of our One Africa strategy and reflects South Africa’s commitment to creating the right conditions and climate for foreign investment into the country and the continent.”

Absa and Barclays are committed to satisfying the outstanding conditions relating to the proposed transaction.

As announced on 5 April 2013, Absa will announce a revised transaction timeline in due course and expects that the transaction will be completed within the dates allowed for under the sale and purchase agreement between Absa, Barclays Africa and Barclays plc. The combined, JSE-listed business would serve approximately 14,4 million customers and employ around 43 000 people across ten countries.

Barclays Bank of Kenya has launched a mobile banking app with similar functionality to its full online banking platform. This follows the mass adoption of its Pingit app, which allows users to make and receive payments with just a mobile number.

The new app will not only allow customers to view their balances and the most recent transactions, make transfers between accounts and pay bills but will also offer customers real-time access to their credit card and loan transactions, which is a first in the industry.

Barclays Bank of Kenya Managing Director, Jeremy Awori noted in a market such as Kenya and indeed in the rest of the third world, Mobile phones are increasingly becoming a key tool for economic and social survival with a proven capacity to act as development catalysts.

The click of a button

“The Kenya mobile banking arena is also fast developing and shaping the landscape of cashless transactions and this app is aimed at ensuring convenience in Internet banking service. Our customers will not have to queue for hours to be served; instead the click of a button will do the magic,” added Awori.

The app which will be at no charge can be accessed by customers who have already registered successfully for Barclays internet Banking and will be made available on the app store for upload on both Ipads and devices running on Android and Apple

Barclays Bank of Kenya is laying great emphasis on technology, product innovation and customer service. This new digital drive is part of Barclays Bank One Africa strategy and corporate goal to become the ‘Go-To’ bank on the continent

The National Bank of Commerce (NBC) launched a two-and-half-month campaign for their Islamic Banking customers to win two fully paid packages for two people to perform Hajj in October 2013.

Speaking during the promotion launch at NBC Head Office, NBC’s Head of Islamic Banking, Yassir Masoud said, “We are very excited to be launching the second round of this campaign. The Hajj promotion was launched for the first time in Tanzania last year and the results have been excellent. We managed to send two of our Islamic Banking customers and their selected partners to Hajj and received very positive feedback from them”.

Commenting on behalf of the Managing Director, NBC’s Head of Treasury Pius Tibazarwa said,

“We highly value our customers and the relationship we have with them and this promotion is another way of expressing our appreciation to our Islamic Banking customers for supporting us.” He added “This is the second time that our bank is running such a promotion and in the future we are expecting to send even more customers for this spiritual journey.”

NBC started offering Islamic Banking services in May 2010. Currently the services offered are Islamic Savings, Islamic Current, Islamic Business and Islamic Corporate accounts. These products are interest free, in compliance with Shari’ah laws, and are open to any customers who are interested regardless of their faith.

The promotion will culminate in a grand draw to select the winners, on 13 September 2013. Inclusive in the package are flight tickets, accommodation and spending money during their time in Mecca.