Absa Bank Kenya Plc, formerly Barclays Bank Kenya Limited, is a commercial bank in Kenya and a subsidiary of South Africa-based Absa Group Limited.[3] It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank and national banking regulator.[4]

Absa Bank Kenya Plc
Company typePublic company
KN: ABSA.NR ABSA
IndustryBanking
Founded1916 (1916)
HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
Key people
Charles Muchene
Chairman[1]
Jeremy Awori
Managing Director[1]
ProductsLoans, credit cards, savings, investments, mortgages, Insurance
RevenueIncrease: Aftertax: KES:7.161 billion (US$68.18 million) (2019)[1]
Total assetsKES:374.109 billion (US$3.561 billion) (2019)[1]
OwnerAbsa Group Limited (68.5%)
Number of employees
1991[2] (2020)
Websitewww.absabank.co.ke/personal/

Location

edit

The headquarters and main branch of the bank are located at Absa Westend Building, off Waiyaki Way, in Nairobi, Kenya's capital and largest city.[5]

Overview

edit

As of December 2019, the bank is a large financial services institution in Kenya, with an asset base in excess of KSh:374.109 billion (US$3.561 billion), with shareholders' equity of KSh:44.079 billion (US$419.654 million).[1]

As of March 2014, Barclays Bank of Kenya was the fifth-largest commercial bank in Kenya, by assets, behind KCB Group, Equity Group Holdings Limited, Cooperative Bank and Standard Chartered Kenya.[6]

History

edit

The bank's history traces from 1916 when the National Bank of South Africa (now First National Bank) opened a branch. In 1925, National Bank of South Africa was merged with the Anglo-Egyptian Bank and the Colonial Bank in 1925 to form Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas). This brought the Kenyan operations under Barclays Bank.[7]

The bank was licensed in its present form in 1953 and in 1978 it was incorporated locally as Barclays Bank of Kenya, a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays Bank International. The bank listed its shares on the Nairobi Stock Exchange in 1986 through a successful IPO.[8] These shares trade under the symbol: BARC.

Before 2013, The bank is a subsidiary of Barclays Bank Plc. (through Barclays Africa), an International financial services conglomerate, whose shares of stock are listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol: BARC and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol: BCS. In 2013, Barclays Plc adopted the combined strategy to operate as “One Bank in Africa” with an aim of increasing efficiency and boosting returns from the African Units. This led to the merging of all Barclays Plc. businesses in Africa (other than Egypt and Zimbabwe units) through Absa Group Limited, leading to the formation of Barclays Africa Group. The stock of Barclays Africa Group, which owns 68.5% of Barclays Bank of Kenya, is listed on the JSE.[9][10]

Shareholding

edit

As of 31 December 2020, the major shareholders in the stock of the bank were as illustrated in the table below:[2]

Barclays Bank of Kenya Stock Ownership
Rank Name of Owner Percentage Ownership[2]
1 Absa Group Limited 68.50
2 Patel, Baloobhai;Patel, Amarjeet Baloobhai 0.78
3 Kenya Commercial Bank Nominees Limited A/C 915b 0.77
4 Standard Chartered Nominees Resd A/C KE11450 0.70
5 Standard Chartered Kenya Nominees Ltd A/C Ke004667 0.57
6 Standard Chartered Nominees Resd A/C KE11443 0.48
7 Standard Chartered Nominees Resd A/C KE11401 0.48
8 The Jubilee Insurance Company Of Kenya Limited 0.37
9 Kariuki, Patrick Njogu 0.34
10 Standard Chartered Nominees A/C 9230 0.33
11 Others 26.68
Total 100.00

Branch network

edit

As of December 2020, the bank maintains a network of 85 branches and 208 ATMs in various locations across Kenya.[2]

Governance

edit

The chairman of the ten-person board of directors of Absa Bank Kenya is Charles Muchene, one of the non-executive directors. Jeremy Awori serves as the managing director of the bank.[1]

Re-branding

edit

Following the issuance of the requisite regulatory approvals, Barclays Bank of Kenya re-branded to Absa Bank Kenya, on 10 February 2020.[11][12]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f Absa Bank Kenya Plc (23 March 2020). "Absa Bank Kenya Plc Audited Group Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2019" (PDF). Nairobi: Absa Bank Kenya Plc. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Absa Bank Kenya PLCIntegrated Report and Financial Statements 2020" (PDF). Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  3. ^ Adengo, Jonathan (2 March 2018). "Barclays becomes Absa". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  4. ^ Central Bank of Kenya (31 May 2017). "Bank Supervision: Commercial Banks, Mortgage Finance Institutions & Authorized Non-Operating Holding Companies" (PDF). Nairobi: Central Bank of Kenya. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  5. ^ Barclays Bank of Kenya (7 June 2018). "The Headquarters of Barclays Bank of Kenya Limited". Nairobi: Barclays Bank of Kenya Limited. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  6. ^ Bankelele (28 April 2014). "Kenya Bank Rankings By Assets 2013". Nairobi: Bankelele.co.ke. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  7. ^ Anthony, Michael (2001). Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago. Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Md., and London. ISBN 0-8108-3173-2.
  8. ^ Barclays Bank (7 June 2018). "The History of Barclays Bank of Kenya" (Archived from the Original). Barclays Bank. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  9. ^ Buthelezi, Londiwe (8 April 2013). "Absa's Deal To Buy Barclays' African Operations Runs Behind Schedule". © Copyright 1999 - 2014 Independent Online, A Division of Independent Newspapers (Private) Limited. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  10. ^ Ndzamela, Phakamisa (7 October 2013). "Ramos Doing Good Job, Says Barclays Boss". Business Day (South Africa). Parktown, Johannesburg. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  11. ^ Patrick Alushula (10 February 2020). "NSE halts trade of Barclays shares as lender becomes Absa". Business Daily Africa. Nairobi. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  12. ^ James Anyanzwa (10 February 2020). "NSE temporarily halts Barclays stock from trading as lender rebrands to Absa". The EastAfrican. Nairobi. Retrieved 10 February 2020.