Barclays brand will disappear from Kenya in two to three years after more than 100 years in the country. This is after its parent company, Barclays PLC, confirmed yesterday that it is selling down the stake it holds in its African units.

The London-based lender, which owns 62.3 per cent in Barclays Africa Group Limited (BAGL), says it plans to sell part of this stake over the next two to three years in a transaction that will make it hand over control to another investor.

The bank says it is still too early to say who will buy the stake and how the deal will end up given that it is subject to approval by regulators and shareholders.

“As part of the simplification of the group, we have decided, subject to required shareholder and regulatory approval, to reduce our interest in Barclays Africa to a non controlling, non consolidated position over the next two to three years,” Barclays PLC Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley said yesterday.

Barclays Africa Group is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the bank has been under pressure to explain what the exit means. If the lender remains with a minority stake or chooses to sell all its African stake, then the bank will hand over control to new investor(s), an exercise that sometimes comes with a change of strategy and management. The sale reports first emerged in December and then again on Friday, sending shares in its business Barclays Africa tumbling.

Barclays Africa shares fell as much as 6.9 per cent to R126.61 (Sh817.574) in early trade on Tuesday following the announcement. Barclays Kenya shed 3.1 per cent as its parent company, Barclays PLC, announced plans to sell down its 62.3 per cent interest in Barclays Africa Group.

Barclays Africa holds 68.5 per cent stake in Barclays Kenya. “There are not going to be any drastic changes in the next two to three years. Kenyans are not going to wake up tomorrow to find that the brand has just disappeared. But we don’t know who is going to be the buyer,” Barclays Bank of Kenya (BBK) Managing Director Jeremy Awori, said at a briefing yesterday.

Mr Awori maintains that it is simply a change in shareholding and the fundamentals of the bank will remain the same.

In a separate briefing yesterday, the Barclays Africa Group Chief Executive Maria Ramos said the bank is still committed to its business on the continent despite the change of shareholders. It is not yet clear how the changes will affect in any way the bank’s over 12 million customers in the continent and over 42,000 employees.

The exit of Barclays from the African market comes at a time when the world has been buying into the African rising narrative, which has seen several multinationals set up shop on the continent. But Barclays says the exit would allow it concentrate on its two divisions - Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate and International.

The news has been received with mixed reactions in Kenya, raising fears of a run on the bank. Its local outfit, the BBK, has been left to battle the fears that the bank was shutting down. A bank run occurs when a large number of bank customers panic and rush to withdraw their deposits simultaneously due to concerns mostly driven by fears of collapse.

“It is factually incorrect that Barclays Bank of Kenya Ltd (BBK) is shutting down in Kenya. We have a clear strategy of our Kenya business and there are no plans at a local, regional or group level to shut it down,” Mr Awori, said. “Your accounts are and continue to be safe and are not impacted in any way. The speculation concerns shareholding of Barclays Africa Group Ltd and does not impact the day-to-day running of BBK.”