Barclays Bank of Kenya has a issued a statement rubbishing rumors that it wants to sell the Kenyan unit. Following the announcement by the parent company on its intention to cut its holding in the African Business, there have been media reports that Barclays Bank Africa is considering breaking up & selling the various units individually.
Read; What the Barclays exit of Africa really means
Equity Bank CEO, Mr James Mwangi while on an interview with Reuters said that Equity Bank was interested in buying parts of Barclays’ Africa business.
James Mwangi told Reuters he saw potential acquisition opportunities following Barclays’ decision to reduce its stake its Barclays Africa Group, which has businesses across the continent.
“If there is anybody who is well-positioned in the region to take up the spoils, it is Equity Bank,” he said about the Barclays decision, citing Equity’s focus on small- and medium-size enterprises as a major competitive advantage.
Currently,Baclays PLC holds 62.3% stake in Barclays Africa which in turn holds a majority 68.5% stake in Barclays Bank of Kenya. Barclays is in operations across 12 african countries with over 12 Million customers.
Barclays Bank which has been in operation in Kenya for over 100 years has 119 Branches across the country,with 229 ATM Machines and has put up 400 agency Banking outlets in 2016.
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