Nigeria

Entered market 

1917

The forerunner of Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas) was the Colonial Bank, which was allowed to operate in West Africa in 1916 by an Act of Parliament. In 1917, the Lagos branch was established, and by 1925, there were 9 branches, which were then taken over by DCO. A West Africa Local Head Office (LHO) was opened in Lagos in 1951, which controlled offices in Nigeria, the Gold Coat, Sierra Leone and British Cameroon. Five years later, in 1956, there were 39 branches in total operating in Nigeria, administered by the LHO, on such sites as Kano, Lagos and Kaduna. In the same year, a staff training centre was established in Lagos. In 1960, when Nigeria gained independence, Sir Leonard Daldry, the head of Barclays DCO's Lagos LHO was appointed as the only European senator in the state legislature. Local incorporation followed in 1968, and the business was known as Barclays Bank of Nigeria, and had some 83 offices. Barclays Bank of Nigeria was then legally incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of DCO in 1969, and by 1971, the Nigerian government had acquired a 40% stake in BBN. Following the increase of this stake in 1976 to 60%, BBN became an associate company of Barclays Bank International, and BBI's holding became further reduced to 20% after offering half of its shares to the Nigerian public in 1979. Following this, the Bank's name changed to the Union Bank of Nigeria, although BBI continued to act as overseas correspondent whilst offering managerial assistance. Anticipating eventual withdrawal from the Union Bank of Nigeria, Barclays opened a separate group representative office at Lagos in 1982, and in 1989, announced a plan to sell the remaining Union Bank holding locally. In 2005 Barclays acquired a controlling interest in the South Africa-based Absa group, but from 2006 Barclays' operations in Nigeria functioned as part of its International and Private Clients division. When in 2013 it was announced that Barclays’ African businesses would be incorporated in a new business, Barclays Africa Group Ltd, Absa’s representative office in Nigeria remained outside the new grouping. All information is correct as of August 2015.  

Traded as

Colonial Bank