Barclays Bank

Once again, Western auditing and consulting firms shamelessly facilitated corruption on an international scale

The Competition Commission has 40 working days in which to redraft its case against banks

Online chat rooms were key to the way in which traders colluded to maximise profits.

They include Qatar, American pensioners and the Public Investment Corporation, but the sums are smallish – and payment may never happen.

Mining tycoon Patrice Motsepe reportedly has his sights set on being a major player in the banking sector.

Banks are struggling for liquidity, resulting in empty ATMs, as foreign banks now show signs of weakness alongside struggling local counterparts.

Alluring though the sale of its Africa shareholding may be, the timing is not ideal given the state of global banking.

Given the deterioration of the continent’s prospects, the question is who would want to take over the bank’s 62% stake in JSE-listed Barclays Africa.

The investment firm has begun building what it hopes will be Africa’s premier financial service group.

The bank’s net income has risen to R12-billion from R10-billion last year.

In its full-year results, the Bank of Kenya said profit had declined by 13% on bad debt.

Barclays Africa is giving its tellers iPads and offering mobile apps to try to win back market share from Capitec, Standard Bank and Nedbank.

Traders have been found to have attempted to manipulate interest rate and foreign exchange benchmarks.

The growing middle class needs sophisticated banking, but analysts say it is not without risk.

Some analysts believe the bank’s One Africa policy makes sense but question if it can be done.