UK-headquartered Barclays is expanding its private banking offering in Africa to target the continent’s $2trn (£1.7trn, €2trn) high net worth market, it confirmed to International Adviser.
The banking group has hired nine bankers from the Credit Suisse Group based in mainly Dubai, London and Zurich after agreeing a deal to serve clients referred by the Swiss banking giant.
In February 2022, Credit Suisse pulled out of nine African wealth management markets, excluding South Africa. The bank inked a deal with Barclays for the latter to take on the Swiss bank’s wealthy clients in the nine African countries.
Jean-Christophe Gerard, Barclays Private Bank chief executive, told newswire Bloomberg: “Barclays’ franchise in Africa is experiencing an accelerated build-out across south, west and east Africa. This will be done through organic growth and the referral agreement we have with Credit Suisse.”
Gerard said there will be a focus on wealthy individuals based in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.
This is an interesting move by Barclays to expand its private banking offering across Africa after it exited from retail banking in South Africa, where it recently sold the last of its holdings in Johannesburg-based Absa Group.
Credit Suisse declined to comment further on the story.
