European banks' old errors to blame for Barclays' Africa exit says minister

Barclays' decision to sell down its stake in a Johannesburg-listed venture is a consequence of past mistakes at European banks rather than a reflection of Africa's future prospects, South Africa's finance minister said.

Emerging markets are often "victims of policymaking" by developed nations and it is wrong to blame them entirely for recent problems such as the collapse in economic growth and the huge capital outflows they face, Pravin Gordhan told Reuters.