Credit Suisse Group AG has decided to transfer to Barclays PLC its wealthy clients in nine African markets where the bank has decided to withdraw since last November. The assets under management affected by the private banking client referral agreement signed by the two banks total approximately $2.5 billion.
“Credit Suisse has signed a private banking client referral agreement with Barclays as part of the plan to exit nine non-core wealth management markets, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa “, announced Credit Suisse in a press release published this Friday, February 4, confirming information from the Bloomberg agency.
The countries concerned are Botswana, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Seychelles, Tanzania and Zambia. Credit Suisse has, however, decided to keep its operations in South Africa, where Barclays mainly focuses on investment banking.
The statement noted that the financial terms of the agreement between Credit Suisse and Barclays would depend on the number of clients transferring their assets.
As a reminder, Barclays announced in November 2021 its decision to reduce its presence in sub-Saharan Africa and focus on its investment banking operations in London and New York. This decline follows the sale of a large part of the bank’s majority stake in Absa Group Ltd., based in Johannesburg.
