The story
Formation of ABSA and Barclays Africa Group Limited (1991–2017)
Absa Group began with the incorporation Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (ABSA) Limited in 1986 from a merger of the United Building Society Holdings South Africa, Allied Bank South Africa, Volkskas Bank Group and certain interests of the Sage Group. In 1992, ABSA acquired the entire shareholding of the Bankorp Group (which included TrustBank, Senbank and Bankfin). In 1997, ABSA changed the name of the holding company to ABSA Group Limited and adopted a new corporate identity. It consisted of four main operating divisions, whose brands; "United", "Volkskas", "Allied" and "TrustBank" brands were retired the following year in favor of the ABSA brand.
In May 2005, Barclays of the United Kingdom purchased 56.4 percent stake in Absa, which was criticized by the then-governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Tito Mboweni, who said he "had yet to see the benefits of Barclays' management of Absa". With the acquisition, Absa Group Limited was rebranded as Barclays Africa Group Limited.
eBank charges (2005-2012)
Finweek Bank Charges Reports from 2008 through 2010 found Barclays Africa Group Holdings Limited to be the most expensive bank in South Africa. Pay-as-you-transact (PAYT) fees increased 82 percent from 2005 to 2010. The 2012, Finweek Bank Charges Report ranked Absa's Gold Value Bundle as the cheapest package option amongst the four banks that were compared. The report has also shown Absa's PAYT pricing structure to have reduced by 25 percent by 2013, leaving it third cheapest in the overall ranking at that time.
In 2013, the group acquired the entire issued share capital of Barclays Africa Limited and issued 129,540,636 consideration shares to Barclays Africa Group Holdings Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays) thus increasing the shareholding of Barclays plc to 62.3 percent. The Consideration Shares were listed on the JSE from the commencement of trading on 31 July 2013. The name change from "Absa Group Limited" to "Barclays Africa Group Limited" was completed in August 2013.
In 2017, the South African Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, found that the bailout of R1.125 billion that Absa's predecessor Bankorp Group had received between 1985 and 1992 from the Reserve Bank was illegal, and recommended that Absa be forced to pay back R2.25 billion, the current equivalent of the amount. The report was set aside by the Pretoria High Court, finding that "The public protector did not conduct herself in a manner which would be expected from a person occupying the office of the public protector." The court assessed some costs of the case personally against Mkhwebane due to her conduct, an order upheld by the Constitutional Court of South Africa in July 2019.
Absa Group Limited (2018-present)
Barclays Bank Plc in 2018 owned 14.9 percent of Absa Group Limited. In March 2018, Barclays Africa announced the group's name would revert to Absa Group Limited, effective 30 May 2018. The company underwent rebranding in 2018, inclusive of a new logo and slogans.
Absa opened an international office in London in September 2018, then in 2019, opened another international office in New York City. As of October 2019, according to Club of Mozambique, Absa Group Limited had total assets in excess of R1.9 trillion as of June 2024. ABGL in 2020 was the majority shareholder of 11 banks located in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (two entities), Uganda and Zambia. In March 2022, Sello Moloko was appointed group chairman and Arrie Rautenbach was appointed CEO, and its fourth CEO in three years. The company had been without a CEO for eleven months after the abrupt resignation of Daniel Mminele. In August 2022, Barclays Plc sold its remaining stake in Absa, which it had acquired in 2005, selling 7.4 percent of Absa's issued capital for $620 million.
From Wikipedia’s article on Absa Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.8