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

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

ing and

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

conglomerate based in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. It offers personal and business

ing, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and bank assurances. Operating in 10

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

n countries including in-house South Africa,

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

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 ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

, the conglomerate maintains representative offices in

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and internationals offices in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, as well as a technology support office in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Absa had assets of R1.9 trillion as of June 2024.
Absa Group Limited
recently announced that its board of directors has appointed Kenny Fihla, a senior financial services executive with 20 years of experience, as its new Group Chief Executive Officer, effective 17 June 2025, and subject to regulatory approval.

History

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 prowess of the Bankorp Group (which included TrustBank, Senbank and Bankfin). In 1997, ABSA changed name of the holding company was changed to ABSA Group Limited and adopted a new corporate identity. It consisted of three 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 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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

purchased 56.4 percent stake in Absa, which was criticized by the then-governor of the

South African Reserve Bank The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920", as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial condi ...

, 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 The Constitutional Court of South Africa is the supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was first establ ...

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

. 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

, South Africa,

(two entities),

and

. In March 2022,

Sello Moloko Matthews Sello Moloko (born 6 July 1965) is a South African businessman, banker and corporate executive, who serves as group chairman of Absa Group, a large pan-African financial services group, with subsidiaries in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Maur ...

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.

Overview and structure

Absa Group Limited's shares are listed on the

JSE Limited JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...

stock exchange. In 2020, Absa Bank Kenya and Absa Bank Botswana continue to be listed on their respective stock exchanges.

Major shareholders

Below is the Absa Group's 10 largest shareholders as at June 2023:

Subsidiaries

* Absa Bank Limited (100%) * Absa Financial Services Limited (100%) * Absa Bank Botswana (67.8%) * Absa Bank Ghana (100%) * Absa Bank Kenya (68.5%) * Absa Bank Mauritius (100%) * Absa Bank Mozambique (98.1%) * Absa Bank Seychelles (99.8%) * Absa Bank Uganda (100%) * Absa Bank Zambia (100%) * National Bank of Commerce Limited (55%) * Absa Bank Tanzania (100%)

Legal matters

ABSA v. Sweet

Mortgage loans misconduct

In South Africa, banks must secure consent from the borrower if the bank wishes to securitise the loan, allowing the bank to bundle in the loan with other loans and sell it to new owners. In 2014, South African courts made a number of rulings against Absa's

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...

loan division in a number of previous summary judgements against clients who had taken out loans with the bank and who the bank had accused of defaulting on their loans. In August 2014, Absa brought a case against James Grobbelaar and Kevin Jenzen for allegedly defaulting on their home loans. However, Absa was unable to provide proof of the loan agreements, claiming that they had been destroyed in a fire in 2009 and instead presented an unsigned blank loan agreement. In November 2014, Absa withdrew a similar case it had brought in the North Gauteng High Court against Emmarentia and Monica Liebenberg for allegedly defaulting on loans taken out in 2007, with the bank being unable to provide a copy of the signed documents that the bank claimed to be the loan agreement they were enforcing. The Liebenberg's accused the bank of trying to bully them "into submission, by threatening legal costs and expenses and by pursuing a wrongful summary judgement application knowing full well the massive disputes involved". The Liebenbergs also stated in their affidavit that the bank had inflated the interest rate of the loan and charged additional fees that had never been agreed to and would have been illegal even if they had been written into a signed agreement.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Absa Group Limited Absa Group Limited Banks of South Africa Barclays Banks established in 1986 Financial services companies established in 1986 Companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange South African companies established in 1986 Companies in the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Index