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Barclays Group's corporate structure is made up of Global Retail and Commercial Banking (GRCB) and Investment Banking and Investment Management. As the GRCB's chief executive, Vinit Chandra is responsible for Barclays' retail and commercial banking businesses across 14 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. He spoke to STEPHEN WILLIAMS.
African Banker: Could you provide an overview of Barclays GCRB's Emerging Markets division, and how this division fits within the Barclays Group's operations?
Vinit Chandra: GRCB Emerging Markets is a key contributor to the Barclays Group vision of generating half of its earnings from outside the UK. The division comprises 14 countries, covering Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. It is one of the fastest-growing international businesses in the Barclays Group, having opened over 280 distribution points in 2008 and providing full banking services to over 4m customers.
With almost 20,000 employees, Barclays Emerging Markets division has achieved some notable successes this year. Our interim results for the period ending June 2009 show that we increased our income by 29% compared to the first half of 2008, as a result of business growth across most markets.
Average customer assets increased by 61%, reflecting our network and customer growth as we expanded both geographically and within existing markets, while customer deposits were up 27%.
We have not been immune to the global economic downturn which has affected our performance in some markets, particularly in India and the UAE, where deteriorating credit environments coupled with portfolio maturation have led to high impairments.
But our nine African businesses have continued to show strong growth with a significant increase in profits during the first half of 2009.
Today, the GRCB international businesses - which include Barclays Emerging Markets, Barclays Western Europe and Absa in South Africa - contribute 40% to the GRCB division.
African Banker: This year, Euromoney judged Barclays to be the best bank in Africa. How did you manage this achievement?
Vinit Chandra: The Barclays brand is very strong in sub-Saharan Africa. Beside the prestigious Euromoney award, we are also proud of other awards which we have won this year, including EMEA Finance's Best Foreign Bank in Kenya award for 2009 and Best Foreign Bank in Mauritius award for 2009 for its achievements and...