Barclays Africa recently revealed that they are keen on expanding their corporate investment banking business in Nigeria into a fully-fledged business by 2016.

CEO Maria Ramos explained in late July that Barclays Africa was unlikely to buy any banks in Africa’s largest economy as they were expensive. She added that the strategy in Nigeria would be to keep the primary focus on corporate banking as opposed to following the retail banking route they had taken in other African countries. Moreover, the retail banking sector in Nigeria is highly competitive and dominated by well-established local banks.

Adrian Cloete, a portfolio manager at PSG also noted that applying for a licence was a better approach as an acquisition could be more costly and would require a lot of due diligence.

According to BD Live South Africa, establishing a secure foothold in the West African economy would make a meaningful contribution to Barclays Africa’s expansion on the continent. Barclays already has a representative office in Nigeria and has been flying investment bankers in and out of the country to get business.

estate intel understands that they are currently operating from an office space created from a residential conversion in Osbourne Estate, Ikoyi. With the plans to expand within the country, they will be looking to relocate to prime grade office space in a more commercial location.