public traded as jse bga industry banking financial services investment services insurance services founded 1991 as amalgamated banks of south africa limited 2013 as barclays africa group limited headquarters johannesburg south africa area served botswana ghana kenya mauritius mozambique namibia nigeria seychelles south africa tanzania uganda zambia key people wendy lucas bull group chairman maria ramos group chief executive products commercial banking financial services retail banking credit cards private equity investment management investment banking revenue r67 .19 billion 2015 1 operating income r21 .30 billion 2015 1 net income r15 .40 billion 2015 1 total assets r1 .14 trillion 2015 1 total equity r98 .64 billion 2015 1 owner barclays plc 62.3 % number of employees 33 879 permanent 2013 subsidiaries absa bank website www.barclaysafrica.com barclays africa group limited jse bga formerly absa group limited originally amalgamated banks of south africa is a south african subsidiary of barclays bank plc ; it is a financial services provider offering personal and business banking credit cards corporate and investment banking wealth and investment management as well as bancassurance . absa bank limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of barclays africa group . 2 contents 1 overview 2 history 3 structure 4 leadership 5 major shareholders 6 social responsibility 6.1 education 6.2 entrepreneurship 6.3 health and disability 6.4 environment 7 sponsorship 8 bank charges 9 mortgage loans misconduct 10 achievements and awards 11 see also 12 references 13 external links overview edit barclays africa group limited is 62.3 % owned by barclays bank plc and is listed on the jse limited . the group is one of africa s major financial services providers offering personal and business banking credit cards corporate and investment banking wealth and investment management and bancassurance . the group was formed through combining absa group limited and barclays african operations on 31 july 2013 . reflecting the enlarged group s pan african focus the group s name changed from absa group limited to barclays africa group limited on 2 august 2013 . registered head offices are in south africa and the group has majority stakes in banks in botswana ghana kenya mauritius mozambique seychelles south africa tanzania barclays bank tanzania and national bank of commerce uganda and zambia . the group has representative offices in namibia and nigeria and bancassurance operations in botswana mozambique south africa and zambia . barclays bank kenya and barclays bank botswana continue to be listed on their respective stock exchanges . barclays bank plc has operations in egypt and zimbabwe which are part of the african business and continue to be run by barclays africa group s management . absa is a signatory of the south african financial sector charter . history edit see also absa v sweet map of area served by barclays africa group absa centre in cape town absa was founded in 1991 through the merger of financial service providers united bank south africa the allied bank south africa the volkskas bank group and certain interests of the sage group . 3 the following year absa acquired the entire shareholding of the bankorp group which included trustbank senbank and bankfin thereby extending its asset base further . in the early years of this union each bank operated under its own name . in 1998 they were fused into one single brand . a year later absa adopted a new corporate identity and the name was changed into absa group limited . 4 to cement the union achieved in 1998 absa decided to adopt a single brand and provide an array of financial services offering simple uncomplicated banking relationships value for money stability convenience and superior customer service . 5 in may 2005 barclays bank of the united kingdom purchased 56.4 % stake in absa as part of its drive to expand its global product and international retail and commercial banking businesses to untapped markets outside the uk . 6 barclays called the transaction its largest investment outside the uk and the largest ever direct foreign investment in south africa . 7 in early 2007 the barclays bank acquisition of absa was criticised by governor of the south african reserve bank tito mboweni who said he had yet to see the benefits of barclays management of absa . 8 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 bank plc to 62 3 % . 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 announced on 22 july 2013 and became effective 2 august 2013 . structure edit barclays africa group limited is 62.3 % owned by barclays bank plc. and is listed on the jse limited . barclays bank of kenya and barclays bank botswana continue to be listed on their respective stock exchanges . in addition to the entities listed in this legal structure barclays bank plc. has operations in egypt and zimbabwe which are an integral part of the banking conglomerate s african business and continue to be run by barclays africa group operationally . 9 leadership edit in 2009 absa appointed one of south africa s most successful and highly regarded businesswomen maria ramos as the group chief executive . prior to joining absa ramos had held numerous high profile jobs as the director general of the national treasury from 1996 to 2003 and as group executive of transnet limited from 2004 to 2009 . she has been ranked as the ninth most influential woman in international business by fortune magazine . she won south africa s business woman of the year award in 2001 and was named business leader of the year by the sunday times business times in 2005 . barclays africa group executive committee 10 chief executive officer maria ramos chief executive wealth investment management and insurance willie lategan chief executive corporate and investment banking stephen van coller chief executive retail and business banking craig bond chief operating officer charles russon chief risk officer anil hinduja general counsel charles wheeler group executive marketing communications and public affairs bobby malabie deputy chief executive officer and financial director david hodnett group human resources executive sarah louw compliance officer heather loewenthal major shareholders edit below is the group s 10 largest shareholders as at 30 june 2015 11 majority shareholders 30 june 2015 % barclays bank plc uk 62.32 public investment corporation sa 5.44 sanlam investment management sa 2.30 stanlib asset management sa 2.18 dimensional fund advisors us uk au 1.51 allan gray investment council sa 1.36 blackrock inc. usa uk 1.24 the vanguard group us au 1.23 prudential portfolio managers sa 1.23 investec asset management sa uk 1.00 other 20.19 geographical holding by owner 31 dec 2012 % united kingdom 64.3 south africa 20.3 united states and canada 7.8 other countries 7.7 social responsibility edit in 2007 absa spent r60 9 million in corporate social investment csi projects . 12 the group s key focus areas within csi have been selected to meet the company s goal of improving the lives of underprivileged south africans . these areas include education entrepreneurship health and disability and the environment . education edit in an effort to promote its business improve the quality of education and widen access among rural and disadvantaged communities absa funds two educational programmes the beyers naud schools development programme which is committed to improving maths and science grades in disadvantaged schools across south africa ; 13 and the absa sowetan early childhood development awards to support for early childhood development practitioners working in rural and disadvantaged communities . entrepreneurship edit the group contributes to the development of entrepreneurship in south africa by offering young entrepreneurs start up capital mentorship and skills training . 14 health and disability edit absa has joined forces with the public benefit organizations to provide hiv and aids awareness home based care and assistance to orphans and vulnerable children . the group also runs a number of special health projects as a joint venture with the cancer association of south africa and the walter sisulu paediatric cardiac centre for africa . 15 absa has formed a partnership with the thabo mbeki development trust for disabled people to support the empowerment of persons with disabilities . 15 environment edit through collaborations with organizations such as the peace parks foundation world wildlife fund the department of environmental affairs and tourism and the department of water affairs and forestry absa creates environmental awareness and helps to preserve south africa s natural heritage . 16 sponsorship edit absa sponsors a range of activities in the arts and sports sectors . it is known for its great support in arts festival like aardklop absa klein karoo nasionale kunstefees kknk and the biggest design industry event design indaba . the bank also sponsors various theatre productions and hosts south africa s longest running national arts competition the absa l atelier art competition . the top two artists at l atelier are given the opportunity to study at the art school cit internationale des arts in paris . 17 in terms of sports development absa in association with barclays has created a high tech sports facility for the community of gansbaai in the western cape . the centre offers professional coaching in soccer netball basketball and cricket . absa has invested r4 6 million in the project which will help the community of gansbaai get their kids off the streets and give them an opportunity to engage in sports instead . 18 absa also sponsors major sports teams including the national squad bafana bafana and the springboks south african rugby team ; and major sporting events such as the absa currie cup absa premiership and the mountain bike racing event absa cape epic . 19 bank charges edit a 2008 finweek bank charges report 20 has found absa bank to be the most expensive bank in south africa . a year later the 2009 finweek bank charges report 21 again not only found absa to charge the most for its services but that absa topped the list for a second consecutive time for the biggest increase in bank charges . in 2010 absa was again rated by both fin24 22 and afriforum 23 as having the highest bank charges in the country . increasing by 82 % in pay as you transact payt fees from 2005 to 2010 . 22 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 % leaving it third cheapest in the overall ranking . the 2012 finweek bank charges report specifically applauded absa for the simplified nature of its pricing structures and related brochures . 24 mortgage loans misconduct edit in 2014 the south african courts made a number of rulings against absa s mortgage loan division in a number of 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 . 25 in november 2014 absa withdrew a case it brought in the north gauteng high court against emmarentia and monica liebenberg for allegedly defaulting on loans taken out in 2007 with the bank again trying to present blank unsigned loan agreement as proof and claiming that the originals had been destroyed in a fire . the bank was furthermore unable or unwilling to