In the wake of its recent announcement that it was reducing its 62.3% stake in Barclays Africa, Barclays plc has announced its intention to exit its Zimbabwean operations.
In a notice published by Barclays Bank Zimbabwe, the entity said its Zimbabwean operations no longer fit its long-term core strategy and would transfer to its noncore division, with an intention to sell in the future.
Barclays said in a statement:
"Following the decision not to combine Barclays Zimbabwe with Barclays Africa (the former Absa), the business is no longer a good fit with Barclays's core strategy. Once Barclays's plan to combine Barclays Zimbabwe with Barclays Africa had come to an end, it was logical that Barclays would consider where that business sat in its wider strategy."
According to the central bank, at this stage Barclays's strategy will not affect the going-concern status of Barclays Bank Zimbabwe in its everyday operations. The central Bank further assured stakeholders that Barclays remains a safe and sound financial institution.
Barclays Zimbabwe has total equity of to $54.2 million. For the period ending 31 December 2015, the bank gave out loans totalling $141 million and had deposits amounting to $233.9 million. Profit for that period amounted to $3.8 million.
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