Barlcays Plc plans Africa exit but African subsidiary reiterates commitment to the continent

Barclays Plc announced on Sunday that it plans to exit Africa operations.

Barclays pulling out of Africa for 2 reasons. 1. Its business model is tied to economic conditions in South Africa. 2. Corruption Risk

— Mohamed Wehliye (@WehliyeMohamed) February 27, 2016

According to media reports, Barclays chief executive Jes Staley is planning to make the announcement during the bank’s investors briefing on Tuesday.

It is said that the bank wants to put more focus on its core market in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Barclays Plc handed ownership of its eight African business to its South African subsidiary in exchange for a 62.3 percent stake in the new Barclays Africa entity, under a deal that was concluded three years ago.

The Africa business is made of subsidiaries in 12 countries with a total of 1,267 branches employing 45,000 employees.

However, Barlcays Africa group has said that any that any announcement by its London-listed parent company Barclays Plc would not impact the shareholding and ownership of operations in individual African countries.

In a statement released on Monday, Barclays Africa group reiterated that it remains committed to Africa.

We remain committed to Africa, where we continue to be optimistic about our growth prospects & to operate normally: https://t.co/SfxX5T8FUU

— Barclays Africa (@BarclaysAfrica) February 29, 2016