Bloomberg
BARCLAYS Africa’s corporate and investment banking unit has approached Nigerian authorities for approval to convert its representative office to a fully fledged business.
The bank has been increasing its staff in Lagos in preparation for receiving the licence, Temi Ofong, the head of corporate and investment banking outside of South Africa for Barclays Africa, said on Friday in Gaborone, Botswana. The Nigerian licencing process could take at least 12 months, Ofong said.
“We have an ongoing strategy to expand our footprint and we have formally engaged with the authorities in Nigeria to apply for licences,” he said.
The Barclays Africa unit’s representative office had been expanded to a staff of 20, Ofong said. “These include investment brokers and a trade finance team of four people out of Lagos.”
Standard Chartered, Standard Bank and the investment banking unit of FirstRand, all have operating licences in Nigeria. The economy will probably expand by 4.8 percent this year, more than twice as fast as South Africa, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Barclays Africa also sees corporate and investment banking growth opportunities in Ghana, Egypt, Kenya, Zambia, Mauritius, Mozambique and Botswana, according to Ofong.