Barclays Africa eyes Nigerian market
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reuters9 barclays africa group south africas no.2 lender by market value plans to extend its reach throughout the continent its ceo maria ramos said on thursday after posting annual profit up nearly 4 percent1 finance director jason quinn told reuters that nigeria has been in its sights for some time1 we would have to think carefully about how and when to enter the nigerian market and that is what we are going to start doing he said1 we have to decide how we enter whether we acquire or build1 the bank had earlier reported normalised diluted headline earnings per share the primary measure of profit in south africa stripping out one-off items up 3.9 pct at 1837.7 cents for the year to dec. 31 helped by a 20 percent drop in credit impairments1 ramos said the bank which is changing its name back to south african brand absa after its split from former parent barclays aims to enter nigeria as it seeks to lift its share of the african market to 12 percent from 6 percent over the medium term1 growth in the united states was the positive surprise in the second half even as europe japan and china grew at or above consensus expectations the bank said1 this more than made up for slow economic expansion in its main markets which account for about 80 percent of group income1 barclays africa and its rivals have struggled to increase lending as slowing economic growth in many african markets tempers demand from corporate clients while retail clients in its home south african market feel the squeeze from rising interest rates1 however confidence in its domestic market has been buoyed by the cyril ramaphosas elevation to the south african presidency last month pledging to revitalise the economy1 barclays africa said it expects growth in loans and deposits to improve in 2018 and forecast stronger loan growth from the rest of africa. it also forecast stronger loan growth in corporate and investment banking in south africa. 1 11.9025 rand1 net interest income a gauge of lending profitability rose by 1 percent to 42.32 billion rand 3.56 billion while its net interest margin was unchanged at 4.95 percent1