The new chief executive of Absa Group’s investment banking arm aims to increase revenue growth by 50% to 60% in the next three years as business in its core capital markets starts to pick up.
CEO Stephen van Coller, who took over as head of Absa Capital on October 1, said he would focus on boosting business on the continent, particularly in debt capital markets in sub-Saharan Africa where parent Barclays operates.
”Focus for me is trying to get the FX-platform sorted out. There’s still a big gap between us and Standard Bank in terms of just size across sub-Saharan Africa,” Van Coller told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
”I would love to try to get another 50% to 60% revenue growth in the next three years.”
Van Coller, previously deputy CEO and head of investment banking at Absa Capital, said he expected activity around mergers and acquisitions to pick up towards the end of 2010 as the economy starts to recover from a recession.
”I think the biggest problem at the moment is people trying to get their minds around valuation because visibility out three years is very murky at the moment. When that sort of settles, I think there’s a lot waiting to happen,” he said. — Reuters