Barclays Ghana is planning to set up an insurance company that will help facilitate sale of the bank’sbancassurance products to its customers, ending years of having to rely on insurance partners, Barclays Africa Group Deputy CEO & Group Financial Director David Hodnett has disclosed.
Speaking in Accra last week, Mr. Hodnett said its move to establish an insurance company lends credence to the fact that the bank remains committed to the country amid reports of a sell down by Barclays Plc of its stake in the Africa operations.
According to him, as part of the bank’s efforts to expand its operations, it will explore new opportunities for growth; and the Ghana insurance market, which has a penetration rate of under 2 percent, is seen as an ideal market widen its operations.
“We have got very strong bancassurance operations that we have been rolling-out in Africa.
About two-three years ago we bought into an insurance company in Mozambique and Kenya, and we have rolled-out Greenfield operations organically in Botswana and Zambia, and we are looking to do the same in Ghana.
“We have got various options within the country, but we are very excited about the fact that we can launch in Ghana – we already do bancassurance where we work with partners, but we will now do this as a Group,” Mr. Hodnett said.
A green field investment is typically a form of foreign direct investment, wherein a parent company starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up.
Aftermath of sell down
Barclays Africa has operations in 12 countries, and Mr. Hodnett maintained that none of its operations will be impacted by the intended sell-down by Barclays Plc.
He said the decision willhowever put control of the Africa operations into the hands of its Africa team.
Mr. Hodnett — who was in Ghana last week to reiterate the bank’s commitment to the country as well as meet up with some senior management personnel, staff and some clients of the bank –indicated that Barclays Africa is planning on expanding into newer markets, singling out Nigeria as its next potential destination.
“Nigeria is the next country we are going into,we have already applied for banking licences.
Our entry point into Nigeria will be more in corporate and investment banking, because we believe that’s where we have a competitive advantage and can add something unique to the market rather than retail banking,” he said.
Source: B&FT Online