Barclays Africa Group Limited shareholders have approved the Group’s change of name to Absa Group Limited in July.
Wendy Lucas-Bull, Chairman of Barclays Africa Group Ltd said: “The vote in support of our name change in July marks another milestone in our separation from Barclays PLC to become an independent African bank with global reach. This is the start of a brand journey that will galvanise our operations across Africa behind a single brand and purpose.”
The Group’s banks branded as Barclays in Kenya, Ghana, Botswana, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Mauritius will keep the Barclays name even after the Group is rebranded to Absa in July. The change to Absa of these banks will take place at a later date upon regulatory approval in those markets.
“As part of the process, the new name must be registered by South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Property Commission. In accordance with the timetable that we have shared with our shareholders, the name change is expected [to] be effective on 11 July 2018. The group’s share code on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) will change from BGA to ABG on 11 July,” Lucas-Bull said.
The Group’s change of name will not have an impact on the functionality of Barclays products and services in Africa.
The two companies, Barclays PLC and Barclays Africa, are separating after the former sold its majority shareholding in Barclays Africa Group to a minority shareholding in 2017. The separation agreement requires Barclays Africa Group to stop using the Barclays brand by 2020.
“We will in the future have a brand that is reflective of our African identity – this as an enormous opportunity as we create a banking group that Africa will be proud of,” Lucas-Bull said.
