Morocco's Attijariwafa Bank announced Wednesday it completed the acquisition of 100 percent of Barclays' retail and corporate banking business in Egypt after obtaining all the regulatory approvals needed. Britain's Barclays signed in October last year an agreement to sell 100 percent of its Egyptian business to the Moroccan bank as part of its shift towards focusing on the United States and Britain. The sale will result in a reduction of about 2 billion pounds ($2.55 billion) in the bank's risk-weighted assets, increasing Barclays common equity tier 1 (cet1) ratio by around 10 basis points. The sale to Attijariwafa Bank increases Barclays common equity tier 1 (cet1) ratio by around 10 basis points. The London-based lender is seeking to sell its African operations as part of a plan by chief executive Jes Staley to simplify its structure and improve shareholder returns. With the acquisition of Barclays Egypt's unit, Attijariwafa Bank sets foot in a promising banking market and reinforces its presence in North Africa. Officials from the Moroccan bank said previously that their operations in Egypt would be a bridge towards an extension to east Africa, notably Kenya and Ethiopia. Attijariwafa Bank, part of king Mohammed VI's holding company the SNI, has been named best Moroccan bank in 2016 by the Financial Times. It operates in at least 23 countries including Tunisia, Niger, Gabon, and Cameroon.
