Former Barclays boss Margaret Mwanakatwe joins UBA

The former Managing Director of Barclays Bank Ghana, Margaret Mwanakatwe, is said to have joined the United Bank for Africa (UBA).

Joy Business sources say Mrs Mwanakatwe, an astute banker and financial analyst, assumed her new post with UBA, which is headquartered in Lagos, late last year.

She was to take a new role in Barclays to develop the bank's franchise in West Africa after her replacement by current MD

But with her move to UBA, Mrs Mwanakatwe's new contract will be to oversee UBA's operations in southern Africa.

She is billed to take six months' training in Nigeria after which she will assume her new post in southern Africa.

There were reports that Madam Mwanakatwe was kicked out of Barclays Bank Ghana for an overambitious expansion drive that weakened the bank.

Mrs. Mwanakatwe, a Zambian, took over the operations of Barclays Ghana in August 2004 from Kobina Quansah, another financial icon.

During her tenure as MD, Mrs Mwanakatwe received the prestigious Order of the Volta, Officer Award, conferred on her by former President John Agyekum Kufuor in July 2008.

She was also crowned as the fourth most respected Chief Executive Officer of the year 2008 in a survey of some 100 top CEOs in the country.

Mrs. Mwanakatwe was replaced by Benjamin T. Dabra, a Ghanaian, as the new Managing Director of Barclays Bank Ghana Limited in November last year.

Story by Fiifi Koomson