Barclays to unveil first Absa rebranded branch next week
Fully rebranded. Barclays Bank is expected to have fully rebranded to Absa by mid-2020. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
Fully rebranded. Barclays Bank will at least by mid-2020 have fully rebranded to Absa.
Barclays Bank yesterday said it will next week unveil one of its fully rebranded branches in Lugogo, Kampala.
The bank, which is undergoing a rebranding process, will see some of its branches renamed Absa, which recently acquired a majority stake in the Africa operations from London-based Barclays Bank Plc.
The rebranding will also integrate a number of new features such as colour, from light blue to red, as well as logos, among others.
However, the bank will continue to trade as Barclays pending legal and regulatory approvals.
Speaking in Kampala yesterday, Mr Nazim Mahmood, the Barclays Uganda acting managing director, said the company will still be known as Barclays until the end of the process by at least 2020.
“Recognising the significant size of the task ahead, we have decided to begin rebranding physical assets, such as branches and ATMs across the country to ensure we are fully ready by the time our legal names changes,” he said, noting that there will be no customer interruptions over the rebranding period.
On March 1, 2018, Barclays Africa commenced a rebranding process that will see it fully acquire Absa across Africa as its new name by at least 2020.
Absa is one of South Africa’s largest financial services organisations, serving personal, commercial and corporate customers.
Barclays Plc recently sold its majority stake to maintain just 14.9 per cent in the Absa operations, spread in 12 countries in Africa.
The bank will change its colour from the traditional blue, which it has held for at least 92 years, to vibrant red.
Mr Nazim told journalists during a roundtable meeting in Kampala yesterday that they were engaging the authorities about the carefully managed process, noting that the change is part of a broader multi-country rebrand scheduled to be completed by mid-2020.
Performance
In Uganda, Barclays is the fifth largest bank, operating 39 branches and 39 ATMs. It also operates a network of 3,000 to 4,000 agents for agency banking. The bank, according to Mr Michael Segwaya, the Barclays executive director and chief finance, registered double digit for the half year ended June 30, contributing at least 7 per cent or Shs160b to the Absa Group results.
