NAIROBI, KENYA: Barclays Bank of Kenya on Monday said it is not shutting down its business in the country.
Jeremy Awori, the bank’s managing director for Kenya said that the bank has no plans at local, regional or group level.
He said the on-going speculation is related to the shareholding of Barclays Africa Group Ltd, the holding company of Barclays Bank of Kenya and does not in any way impact the day to day running of his institution.
“In the past few months, you may have seen speculative reports in local and international media about Barclays considering exiting Africa. This has understandably raised a lot of concerns among our stakeholders,” said Awori.
“In light of this I would like to assure all our stakeholders that we are not shutting down and there are no plans at Local, Regional or Group level to shut down our operations here.”
He said the bank has a strong capital base and liquidity position that ensures it is able to deliver value to all stakeholders.
When Barclays Africa Group was formed in 2013, it became one of the biggest banking groups on the continent. Barclays PLC owns 62.3percent of Barclays Africa Group Limited which in turn holds a controlling stake in Barclays Bank of Kenya and 11 other operations in Africa.
Any decisions therefore concerning the operations of Barclays Kenya can only be made by Barclays Africa Group Limited in consultation with other investors who are shareholders in the business.
Barclays Plc said on Sunday its board was evaluating strategic options in relation to its shareholding in its African business. The bank will update the market on its plans for Barclays Africa on Tuesday, it said.
Barclays Africa shares fell as much as 6 percent as markets opened and traded 4.8 percent lower at 137.90 rand by 0750 GMT. The banking index was down 2.8 percent.
