Absa Bank
{{short description|Commercial bank in South Africa}}
{{About|the flagship South African bank|the eponymous banking conglomerate|Absa Group|Other uses|ABSA (disambiguation){{!}}ABSA}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Absa Bank Limited
| logo = ABSA Group Limited Logo.svg
| logo_size = 100px
| logo_caption =
| image = Absa Tower.jpg
| former_name = Amalgamated Banks of South Africa
| type = Subsidiary
| foundation = {{start date and years ago|1986}}
| location = 7th Floor, Absa Towers West
15 Troye Street, Johannesburg, South Africa
| key_people = {{ubl|Sello Moloko (chairperson){{cite web|url=https://www.absa.co.za/about-us/absa-bank/absa-bank-board/ |title=The Board of Absa Bank Limited |publisher=Absa Bank Limited |date=21 April 2022 | author=Absa Bank Limited |access-date=21 April 2022 | place=Johannesburg}}|{{nowrap|Arrie Rautenbach (managing director and CEO)}}}}
| num_employees =
| parent = Absa Group Limited
| assets = R1 289 billion (US$73.69 billion) (2018)
| revenue =
| industry = Financial services
| products = {{hlist|Loans|Checking|Savings|Investments|Debit cards}}
| homepage = {{URL|https://absa.co.za}}
}}
Absa Bank Limited, formerly known as the Amalgamated Banks of South Africa, is a commercial bank in South Africa and the flagship bank of Absa Group. It is licensed by the Reserve Bank of South Africa, the central bank and national banking regulator.{{cite web|title=South African Registered Banks and Representative Offices |publisher=Reserve Bank of South Africa |date=March 2020 |author=Reserve Bank of South Africa | url=https://www.resbank.co.za/PrudentialAuthority/Deposit-takers/Banks/Pages/South-African-Registered-Banks-and-Representative-Offices.aspx |access-date=28 March 2020 | place=Pretoria}}
Location
The bank's headquarters are located on the 7th Floor of Absa Towers West, 15 Troye Street, Johannesburg, South Africa.{{cite web|url=https://www.absa.co.za/talk-to-us/
|title=Absa Bank Limited: Head Office, Johannesburg |date=March 2020 |publisher=Absa Bank Limited |author=Absa Bank Limited | access-date=28 March 2020 |place=Johannesburg}} The geographic coordinates of the bank's headquarters are:
26°12'23.0"S 28°02'57.0"E (Latitude:-26.206389; Longitude:28.049167).{{google maps| url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/26%C2%B012'23.0%22S+28%C2%B002'57.0%22E/@-26.2070439,28.0482759,704m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d-26.2063889!4d28.0491667 |title=Location of the Headquarters of Absa Bank Limited, Johannesburg, South Africa|access-date=15 May 2020}}
Overview
Absa Bank Limited is one of the largest commercial banks in South Africa. As of 31 December 2018, the bank's total assets were ZAR:1,289,000,000,000 (US$73,691,500,000).{{cite web|url=https://www.absa.africa/content/dam/africa/absaafrica/pdf/sens/2019/absa-results-sens-annoucement-group.pdf |title=Absa Group Limited: Summary Provisional Consolidated Financial Results For The Reporting Period Ended 31 December 2018: Assets of Absa Bank Limited |publisher=Absa Group Limited |date=8 March 2019 | author=Absa Group Limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416131824/https://www.absa.africa/content/dam/africa/absaafrica/pdf/sens/2019/absa-results-sens-annoucement-group.pdf |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-date=16 April 2019 | place=Johannesburg |format=Archived from the original on 16 April 2019}} Absa Bank Limited is a 100 percent subsidiary of Absa Group Limited, the Pan African financial services conglomerate headquartered in South Africa, with subsidiaries in 12 African countries, whose total assets exceeded US$91 billion as at October 2019. The shares of the stock of Absa Group Limited, are listed on te JSE Limited, where they trade under the symbol AGL.{{cite web |publisher=Club of Mozambique |url=https://clubofmozambique.com/news/barclays-in-mozambique-rebranding-as-absa-bank-145292/ |title=Barclays in Mozambique rebranding as Absa Bank |date=23 October 2019 |access-date=28 March 2020 |author=Adrian Frey |location=Maputo}}
History
According to the archives of maintained by Barclays Bank Plc,
Amalgamated Banks of South Africa Limited was incorporated in 1986, by "the merger of UBS (United Building Society) Holdings, the Allied and Volkskas Groups, and certain interests of the Sage Group". In 1992 Absa acquired the entire shareholding of the Bankorp Group, which included TrustBank, Senbank and Bankfin. The name of the bank's holding company was changed to Absa Group Limited in 1997.{{cite web |date=2006 |author=Barclays Archives |url=https://www.archive.barclays.com/items/show/5402 |title=ABSA Group: Amalgamated Banks of South Africa |publisher=Barclays Archives |access-date=28 March 2020 |location=London |archive-date=28 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328113324/https://www.archive.barclays.com/items/show/5402 |url-status=dead }}
In 2005 Barclays acquired a 62.3 percent majority stake in ABSA, and Barclays' existing subsidiary in South Africa and Barclays Capital's business were subsequently operated under the ABSA brand. Twelve other financial subsidiaries in 11 sub-Saharan African countries were made part of the group. Absa Group changed its name to Barclays Africa Group.
In 2016, Barclays Bank Plc, which owned 62.3 percent of Barclays Africa Group (BAG), the then parent company of Absa Bank Limited (the South African subsidiary), decided to divest its majority shareholding in BAG, worth £3.5 billion at that time.{{cite web|date=26 February 2016 |access-date=28 March 2020 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/01d64502-dca4-11e5-827d-4dfbe0213e07 |title=Barclays set to exit African business
|newspaper=The Financial Times |author=Martin Arnold and Patrick Jenkins |location=London}}
In 2017 Barclays reduced its shareholding in BAG to 14.9 percent. After that, BAG re-branded to Absa Group Limited in 2018. Under the terms of that re-brand, Absa had until June 2020 to change the names of its subsidiaries in 12 African countries.{{cite web|newspaper=Business Daily Africa | url=https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/companies/Barclays-Africa-officially-rebrands-to-Absa/4003102-4657806-c99e5u/index.html |title=Barclays Africa returns to its SA roots with rebrand |date=11 July 2018 |access-date=11 February 2020 | agency=Reuters}}
Governance
The bank is governed by a seven-person board of directors. The chairperson of the board is Sello Moloko, one of the non-executive directors. The managing director and CEO is Arrie Rautenbach.
See also
{{Portal|Banks|South Africa}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.absa.co.za/personal/ Official Website]
{{Absa|state=collapsed}}
{{Banks of South Africa}}
{{Witwatersrand companies}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|26|12|23|S|28|02|57|E|display=title}}
Category:Banks of South Africa
Category:Companies based in Johannesburg
Category:Banks established in 1986