Barclays cuts losses in Mozambique to half a million dollars

Barclays Bank Mozambique recorded a loss of 16.8 million meticais (around US$562.466) in 2014, an amount that represents an improvement over the 603.2 million meticais (around US$20.1 M) loss it reported in the previous year (2013).The results were published on Monday in a six-page advert published in State-owned ‘Jornal Notícias’. The bank considers that they reflect "the new dynamics of Barclays in Mozambique," according to a statement sent by the institution to Lusa, pointing out that "the bank managed to reverse the growing of impairments and costs, at the same time that it significantly increased revenues."
"If Barclays Bank Mozambique had not engaged in a financial effort to overcome some historically weak areas to the bank, as was the accumulated deficit in the pensions’ fund or migrating the primary processing into Mozambique, this combination (reversal of impairments and costs / increased revenues) would have resulted in a year of profitable activity" said the managing director of the bank, in a message released with the bank's report.In 2014, according to data released by the Central Bank, cited in the report and accounts, the banking system in Mozambique grew 21.4% in deposits and 25.9% in loans to the economy, which is, according to Rui Barros, "a clear indication of the capacity to promote growth that banks themselves play in the Mozambican economic fabric."The bank has about 900 employees and more than 400,000 customers, distributed by more than 43 agencies and a network of 92 ATM terminals across Mozambique.