This archive report was first published on 19 December 2019.
Barclays Bank of Kenya has embarked on a significant expansion drive, hiring 463 staff on permanent contracts as it rebrands to Absa, its South Africa-based parent company.
Published on December 19, 2019, this move marks a reversal of years of cutting its workforce, including in 2018 when it spent Sh479 million to let go of 78 employees.
The company is seeking to fast-track its growth in the market where the recent removal of rate caps is expected to encourage banks to increase their lending.
Barclays has also hired an additional 700 workers on contract, who will be retained in the lender's 85 branches after June 2020 when the firm expects to have completed its transition to the Absa brand.
Speaking during the unveiling of the Absa-branded flagship branch at Sarit Centre, transition programme director Anthony Mulisa said the bank has seen business growth that necessitated the increased hiring.
"Our three-year journey involved relocation of 166 technology-based systems from UK to Africa (South Africa where Absa is domiciled) that was done successfully without hurting any of our operations. We are well ahead of schedule at 85 percent complete," he said.
Marketing and corporate relations director Carolyne Ndung'u said the lender has spent Sh910 million in the transition process with further investments planned to build the ABSA brand via promotion of home-grown banking services.
Barclays is planning additional investments to improve its digital offerings, including robotics, where one can open an account virtually and apply for a loan without visiting a physical branch.
