Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Barclays Plc COO praises Barclays Bank of Botswana

One of Africa’s leading banks, Barclays, is in the process of relocating the regional office from Dubai to Johannesburg. This was announced by visiting Chief Operating Officer of Barclays Bank, David Skillen, at a recently held customers’ dinner in Gaborone.

Skillen said that Barclays is one of the leading banks in Africa and because of Africa’s importance to the bank and its growth they had taken the decision to relocate the office to Johannesburg.
Commenting on Barclays Bank of Botswana, Skillen said that the bank is performing well.

“To give credence to this I want to refer you to Barclays Bank of Botswana performance in 2011, the results of which were published last week,’ he said, adding that with profit before tax of P644m and on the backdrop of a volatile economy, Barclays of Botswana will remain a mainstay in Africa.

Skillen said that this has been made possible by the government of Botswana which facilitated a good investment climate through a peaceful political environment as well as good governance.
Skillen went on to talk about the Bank’s commitment to the market and its achievement throughout the years.

He said that customers will remain the centre of everything as their obligation is aimed at running a great bank. He said that in 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 the bank has been focusing mainly on making banking easier and convenient to the customers.

He pointed out that Barclays Bank’s developments included waiving ATM fees, removing unpaid stop order fees and the reduced penalty for multiple withdrawals on Lekgolo savings from P100 to P30.
Skillen prided Barclays Botswana for its initiatives of being the first bank in the country to waive ATM charges and not charging unpaid stop order payments despite the financial cost to the business, which he revealed cost the bank P30 million in total.

He pointed out that the bank has been consistent in delivering their mandate to both the customers and shareholders, which he says is a great achievement that has placed the bank ahead of the rest in the financial services space. He concluded by saying that, as a key player in the financial service industry, Barclays remains synonymous with the country’s development.

For his part, Barclays Acting Manager Director, Aupa Monyatsi, thanked the customers for their loyalty and said that through the feedback that they get from them they have been able to review their pricing. He said that late last year the bank launched Internet banking as a way of giving customers the comfort and convenience that must come with modern banking needs. He added that internet banking allows the customers to enjoy functionalities such as account enquiries, fund transfers, statement ordering and purchasing bank drafts. He said that the bank’s internet banking was developed with the consideration of the latest security standards and protocols in mind.

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