Sunday Times

Another Barclays Africa CEO exits in management overhaul

- By PERICLES ANETOS and LUTHO MTONGANA

● Another CEO of a Barclays Africa division has fallen as the bank reorganise­s its top management.

On Friday Bloomberg reported that Jan Moganwa, CEO of the consumer banking division, would leave the bank.

Barclays Africa’s biggest division is believed to be in a process that could result in the reduction of senior management positions from 27 to 12 in a bid to flatten its management structure. Barclays Africa will change its name to Absa next month.

Moganwa’s departure comes a week after the company said Craig Bond, CEO of partnershi­ps, joint ventures and strategic alliances, would take early retirement. The restructur­ing is still at an early stage, but it could involve the merger of business units, which may result in job cuts.

Songezo Zibi, Barclays Africa spokespers­on, would not comment on job losses.

Brian Mugabe, a banking analyst at Momentum Securities, said it was difficult to comment on possible job cuts, including their timing, as Absa would not give that kind of indication to the market prior to telling staff. He added, though, that the group had not given any sign yet that there would be large-scale job cuts.

“If you look at what they are doing, they have streamline­d and consolidat­ed the number of pillars but they have not cut out certain divisions. All they have done is reduce the number of reporting centres, so that doesn’t necessaril­y suggest they are going to reduce the number of staff.

“So I think it’s still a bit early to make that call,” he said. Mugabe said wholesale job cuts would surprise him. Rather, as with other banks, Barclays Africa would rely on natural attrition by not adding staff when people resigned or retired.

Patrice Rassou, head of equities at Sanlam Investment Management, said as the company was in the process of refocusing, it was key that the group had the right people in place. This was something that, to some extent, it had already failed to do with regard to the resignatio­n of deputy CEO David Hodnett in May.

The departure of Hodnett, who was at Barclays Africa for 10 years, is regarded as a loss for the group.

“The devil of these changes is always in the detail. You want to lose the people you don’t want to keep and replace them with people who have the ability to turn the ship around,” said Rassou.

The departure of another CEO raises the critical question of losing institutio­nal memory.

You want to lose the people you don’t want to keep and replace them with people who can turn the ship around

Patrice Rassou

Head of equities at Sanlam Investment Management

Rassou said the changes added strain as the different businesses would no longer be headed by product specialist­s but rather these specialist roles would be consolidat­ed. This means more department­s would be reporting to fewer people and for that the bank would need people with knowledge and experience.

This is the second round of top management changes that CEO Maria Ramos has implemente­d.

She announced in April that the company would refocus on four divisions — retail and business banking, corporate and investment banking, rest of Africa and wealth management and insurance.

— Additional reporting by Bloomberg

 ?? Picture: Waldo Swiegers ?? A Johannesbu­rg branch of Barclays Africa, which will change its name to Absa Group next month.
Picture: Waldo Swiegers A Johannesbu­rg branch of Barclays Africa, which will change its name to Absa Group next month.

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