Absa Group has announced that its income increased by three percent for the first six months of this year (2018).
The group’s revenue increased to 37 billion Rand or 2.8 billion dollars between January and June 2018.
A statement on the bank’s financial position to Citi Business News also said that major earnings for the bank increased by the same margin to 608 million dollars.
“Absa Group Limited, Barclays Bank Ghana’s parent company, today reported an increase in earnings and income for the first half of 2018 and underscored its commitment to growth in Africa,” the Group said.
Commenting on the performance, the CEO of Absa, Maria Ramos stressed the group’s plan to double its share of banking revenue in Africa to 12 percent.
The Board Chairman of Barclays Bank Ghana Limited, Mr. Charles Cofie also said, “Our group’s performance reflects our financial strength and commitment to build a forward-looking business group with global scalability that Ghana and the whole of Africa will be proud of.”
Barclays bank meets GH¢400m minimum capital
Meanwhile Barclays Bank Ghana Limited has stated that the bank it has met the 400 million cedis minimum capital requirement.
According to the Board Chairman of Barclays Bank Ghana Limited, Mr. Charles Cofie, Barclays was among the first banks to meet the target without external capital injection.
“It continues to demonstrate a strong liquidity position and a high capital adequacy ratio of 23.93%, well above the regulatory threshold of 10%. The bank remains a dependable financial partner with a strong financial base, robust governance structure and clear risk management framework,” the statement added.
Absa’s other Africa operations
In Kenya, Absa’s local subsidiary (Barclays Bank Kenya) launched Timiza – an app-based personal loans platform – in March this year. Timiza’s customer base has grown to more than two million by 25 July.
Absa launched ChatBanking on WhatsApp banking and Samsung Pay as new propositions for its South Africa retail business this year.
Uptake particularly in WhatsApp banking has exceeded expectation with more than 10 000 customers registering for ChatBanking on WhatsApp within the first 20 days of launching in July.
CitiNewsRoom
