Botswana I Ethopia I The Gambia I Ghana I Kenya I Malawi I Mauritius I Namibia I Nigeria I Senegal I South Africa I Swaziland I Tanzania I Togo I Uganda I Zambia I Zimbabwe After years of unfulfilled expectations following the resumption of fair elections in 2002 – corruption in government was proved to be a problem not unique to a one-party state – the Kenya economy finally looked as if it was getting back on its feet in 2005, with GDP growth of more than 5%.
Nairobi-listed Barclays Bank of Kenya is the largest bank in Kenya and is central to the economy of one of Africa’s top 10 countries in terms of GDP: its balance sheet is the equivalent of 10% of GDP. The bank maintained its dominance in the market, with assets growing by 11% in 2005 and profits by 9.3%. Kenya is also important to Barclays Bank – before the acquisition of South Africa’s Absa, it was the largest business unit in Barclays’ African stable by contribution to profit and size of operations.
Barclays Bank is the market leader in the retail segment, with 69 branches and 82 ATMs, the highest number of any bank in Kenya.