South Africa boasts of a giant economy which has attracted much foreign investor from China, Russia, India, Brazil and some European and American countries. As such, the country’s financial sector is blossoming; this is evidenced by the increase in the number of activities from banks and micro-finance services providers. Of much interest is the fact that foreign controlled banks have found themselves in this race thereby competing with local financial firms for investment.
Below is a list of some of foreign controlled banks in South Africa:
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Barclays Africa Group Limited: Formerly known as Absa, Barclays Africa is public bank offers a variety of products such as commercial banking, finance and insurance, retail banking, credit cards, private equity, investment management and investment banking. The bank serves in many African countries namely Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. Barclays Africa has revenue of R4.66 billion and total assets of R841.33 billion as of June 2013. The firm has a total number of 33 879 employees as of June 2013. The firm was founded in 1991 through the merger of financial service providers United Bank, the Allied Bank, the Volkskas Bank Group and the Sage Group.
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Albaraka Bank Limited: Founded in 1984, the bank has its branches in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg; as of 2011, the bank had a total of 110 branches around the world. The firm offers products such as Islamic banking, investment banking and investment management. As of 2008, Albaraka had 1 684 employees and has its headquarters in Omraniye, Instanbul, Turkey. In 2008, the bank had a revenue of US$327.2 million,
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Habib Overseas Bank: It is now referred to as HBL Pakistan and is headquartered in Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi, Pakistan; it is the largest bank in Pakistan. With a net income of US$159 million and total revenue of US$ 903.07 million in 2009, Habib Pakistan, offers loans, credit cards, savings consumer banking and many other products. The bank is a public limited company with interests in the banking and capital markets; it has a network of over I500 branches and over 1000 ATMs in Pakistan and 55 branches worldwide.
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Habib Bank AG Zurich: It’s a private commercial bank that in incorporated in Switzerland and has its head offices in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1967, Habib Bank AG Zurich offers loans, checking, savings, investments, credit cards, debit cards, letters of credit. the giant firm employees 5 00 employees.