Barclays Targets Nigerian Banks

Following its consolidation in mature markets,
the British banking group, Barclays, has turned
its sight on emerging markets with Nigeria as
a major target.
THISDAY learnt that a team from Barclays will
be arriving Nigeria soon to open up and
continue discussions with a number of
Nigerian banks the British banks may be keen
on acquiring.
According to findings, the local banks it has
set its sight on include Union Bank of Nigeria
Plc due to legacy issues. Barclays used to
own Union Bank until the Indigenisation
Decree of 1970 forced it to leave the country
and relinquish its stake in the bank.
However, THISDAY learnt that owing to the
challenges Union Bank has encountered in
recent years which led to the intervention by
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the
Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria
(AMCON) in 2009 and 2010, respectively,
Barclays might not be that interested in
investing in Union Bank despite their history
together.
Nevertheless, industry sources said other
banks in which Barclays might make a play
include Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank)
because of the Nigerian bank’s track record.
GTBank has maintained a relatively clean
track record and has grown organically to
become one of Nigeria’s largest banks.
Its listing on the London Stock Exchange
(LSE) means that the bank has been
subjected to much more rigorous scrutiny by
authorities in the United Kingdom than its
peers in the Nigerian market.
Its foreign listing also saw it become one of
the first banks in the country to switch to
International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS) and all these, said an industry analyst,
have made it the darling of foreign investors
trying to enter the Nigerian market.
Also, THISDAY learnt that Barclays might also
be interested in Enterprise Bank Limited.
But when contacted on the development, the
Managing Director, AMCON, Mr. Mustapha
Chike-Obi, whose institution owns 100 per
cent of Enterprise Bank, said: “I don’t know for
now if Barclays is one of them. But I know
about 22 firms have expressed interest in the
bank.
“The process is being handled by the financial
advisers and they will let us know at the
appropriate time.”
The Chief Executive Officer, Barclays, Antony
Jenkins recently said the bank would
cautiously work to strengthen its operations in
Nigeria.
He had explained: “We have a representative
office there (Nigeria). We do some business in
Nigeria and we are going to grow that
business and I think quite cautiously over
time, and then we will see what opportunities
present themselves.
“Obviously in the medium term, we would like
to have a bigger presence there but we are not
going to make some big inorganic play which
would be very expensive.
“We have a unique footprint from the African
continent and so bringing our corporate
customers to Africa is going to be a very
important strategic focus for us and that’s the
unique advantage of Barclays because we
have got a global footprint and we have got
the presence.”