Tier 1 lender Barclays Bank has officially began trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) as Absa Bank Kenya PLC after receiving rebranding approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
Absa Group Limited’s Barclays-branded subsidiaries in Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania and Zambia have similarly been renamed to ‘Absa’ today, completing the name change across the continent. The group-wide rebranding programme, one of the largest corporate rebranding projects in Africa currently, started with the launch of a refreshed visual identity in South Africa in July 2018 to reflect the group’s new identity as a standalone African bank. The name and brand change programme has seen the Absa logo replacing Barclays branding on thousands of asset types, including branches, offices, ATMs, uniforms, cards, stationary, forms, apps, websites and more.
The bank made the proclamation in a public announcement seen by CALLA News.
“The bank will commence trading with effect from 10th February 2020 as Absa Bank Kenya PLC. All contractual relationships and obligations that the bank has with its customers, partners, and other stakeholders are not affected by the change of its name,” the public announcement reads in part.
According to Absa Group Chief Executive Daniel Mminele, the renaming of the remaining subsidiaries marks another substantial milestone in Absa’s separation from Barclays PLC, a three-year process scheduled for completion by mid-2020.
“More than a name change, this is a milestone that brings us closer to realising our ambition as a leading African bank to support growth and development on the continent and beyond. We are now united under a single brand in 12 countries in Africa,” Absa’s first ever black CEO said in a statement.
By adopting the Absa name, the bank is leveraging on its rich African heritage in order to drive relevant initiatives that will further unlock Africa’s potential, deepen regional integration and support accelerated growth.
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