Absa Bank Tanzania Limited (ABT), formerly Barclays Bank Tanzania Limited, is a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and a subsidiary of South Africa-based

Absa Group Limited Absa Group Limited, commonly known and stylized simply as absa (formerly the Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (ABSA) until 2005 and Barclays Africa Group Limited until 2018), is a multinational banking and financial services conglomerate ba ...

. ABT is licensed by the

Bank of Tanzania The Bank of Tanzania () is the central bank of the Tanzania, United Republic of Tanzania. It is responsible for issuing the national currency, the Tanzanian shilling. The bank was established under the Bank of Tanzania Act 1965. However, in 19 ...

, the country's

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

and national banking regulator.

Location

The headquarters and main branch of Barclays Bank of Tanzania Limited are located in Barclays House, along Ohio Street, in the city of

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

, the

financial capital Financial capital (also simply known as capital or equity in finance, accounting and economics) is any Economic resources, economic resource measured in terms of money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their prod ...

and largest city of Tanzania. The geographical coordinates of the bank's headquarters are: 06°48'40.0"S, 39°17'12.0"E (Latitude:-6.811111; Longitude:39.286667).

Overview

BBT is a large financial services provider in Tanzanian, serving large corporations, small-to-medium enterprises, and individuals. , its total assets were valued at about TSh 634.34 billion (US$382 million). , BBT had 87,000 customers and 42 automated teller machines, and maintained 24 networked branches.

History

ABT was established in Tanzania in 1925. In 1967, it was nationalized and converted into the National Bank of Commerce, Tanzania's largest bank by assets. With the liberalization of the economy in the 1990s,

Barclays Bank Plc Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

re-entered the country, resuming business in 2000. As at March 2016, Barclays Bank Plc. was seeking regulatory approval in Tanzania to merge this bank with

National Bank of Commerce (Tanzania) National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

in which Barclays maintains 55% shareholding.

Name change

In 2016,

Barclays Africa Group Absa Group Limited, commonly known and stylized simply as absa (formerly the Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (ABSA) until 2005 and Barclays Africa Group Limited until 2018), is a multinational banking and financial services conglomerate ba ...

(BAG) was owned 62.3 percent by

Barclays Plc Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

of the United Kingdom. In February that year, Barclays decided to downsize it shareholding in BAG, valued at £3.5 billion, then. In December 2017, Barclays reduced its shareholding in BAG to 14.9 percent. In 2018, BAG re-branded to Absa Group Limited.Under the terms of that re-brand, Absa has until June 2020 to change the names of its subsidiaries in 12 African countries. In Tanzania, the re-brand concluded on 11 February 2020, when both the bank's legal and business names became Absa Bank Tanzania Limited.

Branch network

, the bank maintained a network of 15 branches at the following locations: # Ohio Street Branch - Barclays House, Ohio Street,

(main branch) # Slipway Branch -

Msasani Msasani (''Kata ya Msasani'', in Swahili) is an administrative ward in Kinondoni District of the Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania. The ward is bordered to the north and east by the Indian Ocean. Kinondoni, Hananasif and Kivukoni ward of Ila ...

# Alpha House Branch - New Bagamoyo Road, Dar es Salaam # Mikocheni Branch - Old Bagamoyo Road,

Mikocheni Mikocheni (''Kata ya Mikocheni'', in Swahili) is an administrative ward in Kinondoni District of the Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania. The Kawe and Msasani form the north and east boundaries of the ward, respectively. The ward is bordered to ...

, Dar es Salaam # Pugu Branch - Nyerere Road,

# City Mall Branch - City Mall, Dar es Salaam # Arusha Sopa Plaza Branch - Sopa Plaza, Serengeti Road,

Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.

# Mbeya Branch - Mwanjelwa,

Mbeya Mbeya is a city located in south west Tanzania, Africa, with an urban population of 649,000 in 2023. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya Region, Mbeya region (population, with Mbeya, totals approx. 2 million). Mbeya is situated a ...

# Morogoro Branch - Lumumba Road,

Morogoro Morogoro is a city located in the eastern part of Tanzania, approximately 196 kilometers (122 miles) west of Dar es Salaam. Retrieved on November 24, 2011. It serves as the capital of the Morogoro Region. Informally, it is referred to as ''Mji ...

# Moshi Branch - Mawenzi Road, Moshi # Dodoma Branch - Madukani Road,

Dodoma Dodoma ( in Gogo), officially Dodoma City (''Jiji Kuu la Dodoma'', in Swahili), is the capital city of Tanzania. With a population of 765,179, it is also the administrative capital of both Dodoma Municipal Council and the entire Dodoma R ...

# Iringa Branch -

Iringa Iringa is a city in Tanzania with a population of 202,490 () and situated at a latitude of 7.77°S and longitude of 35.69°E. The name is derived from the Hehe language, Hehe word ''lilinga'', meaning fort. Iringa is the administrative capita ...

# Mwanza City Centre Branch - Rock City Mall,

Mwanza Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,104,521 and a population of 3,699,872 in the region ...

# Tanga Branch - King Street,

Tanga Tanga may refer to: Places Burkina Faso * Tanga, Andemtenga, a town in eastern Burkina Faso * Tanga, Sidéradougou, a village in western Burkina Faso * Tanga-Pela, a village in northern-central Burkina Faso Tanzania * Tanga Region, Tanzanian a ...

# Zanzibar Main Branch - Zanzibar State Trading Corporation Building,

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

References