Ghana stays in top five as Barclays Africa’s revenue grows

Ghana maintained its status as one of the top three countries in terms of revenue for Barclays Africa.

Ghana is one of the top performing countries for Barclays' operations in Africa.

The financial results for the first half of 2016 showed that three other countries; South Africa, Zambia and Botswana contributed significantly to the Bank's revenue which grew by 13 percent to 36.5 billion Rand for the first six months of the year.

Meanwhile Barclays Africa's credit impairments increased by 46 percent to 5.2 billion Rand for the first half of 2016.

This translated in a 1.29 percent credit loss up from 0.97 percent in 2015.

Announcing the bank's mid-year performance, Chief Executive for Barclays Africa, Maria Ramos attributed the increased credit impairments to provisions for single name impairments in the Corporate and Investment Bank as well as additional coverage built in the South African Home loans portfolio.

According to Maria Ramos, risks to the South African economy including weak business confidence and job growth, higher inflation and rising interest rates, contributed to weakening consumer finances.

There are also worries as South Africa's GDP is anticipated to weaken in 2016 and recover slowly in 2017.

Meanwhile the bank's headline earnings for the first half of 2016, increased by 7 percent to 7.25 billion Rand with profit before tax increasing by 19 percent.

Revenue grew by 13 percent while operating cost increased by 7 percent.

Barclays Africa says its focus is on cost management despite ongoing investments in new technologies, people and infrastructure.

The decision by Barclays PLC to deconsolidate its share has culminated in a reduction of its share by 12.2 percent to 50.1 percent.

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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana