Cheryl Buss, CEO of Absa’s international arm, on taking a long haul view when supporting clients taking advantage of Africa’s economic development and investment opportunities.

Cheryl Buss

Cheryl Buss

Cheryl Buss, CEO of South African bank Absa’s international arm, is optimistic about Africa’s long-term future, and wants to support corporates around the world to do business on the continent, both during the current difficulties and in the years to come.

“We’re a key African touchpoint to clients that exist on a global basis. We want to take Africa to our clients and assist in bringing them to Africa,” she says. “Everything that we do is about investment and growth on the continent.”

Career history, Cheryl Buss  

2019 CEO of Absa International

2011 Managing principal, head of global clients Africa and international coverage, Absa Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB)

2008 Director, head of global corporates, Absa CIB

2004 Corporate banker, Standard Chartered Bank

2001 Global relationship director, multinational corporations, Standard Chartered Bank

Absa, South Africa’s third largest bank measured by Tier 1 capital, with a presence across 11 other African nations, is on a mission to be “a banking group that Africa can truly be proud of”.

Settled presence

The bank is well established on the continent, having been formed by a merger of several South African banking groups in 1986 (with the underlying banks themselves dating back to 1935), creating what was then Amalgamated Banks of South Africa.

In 1997, having acquired some additional banking brands in the interim, the name of the bank’s holding company was changed to Absa Group Limited, creating a single group ready to serve a modern African market. Some of the group’s subsidiaries, such as the bank in Kenya, were founded as early as 1916.

More recently, the group has been reinventing itself yet again, following Barclays’ 2017 sale of its majority stake, which it had held since 2005. In the three years since, the group has been gradually reaffirming the Absa brand, becoming Absa Group at a company-wide level in 2018, following 13 years as Barclays Africa Group, and completing the rebrand from Barclays to Absa across all 12 of its operating markets in early 2020.

International profile

The group’s international arm represents an extension of these efforts, with Absa striking out to establish in its own right a presence in the global markets that it had previously enjoyed under the Barclays umbrella. “Barclays was a key provider of clients through its global network of offices. The separation made us review our strategy and think about what we need to do to maintain that international client base,” says Ms Buss.

Considering the needs of the bank’s clients, as well as regulatory requirements, it became clear that to achieve its ambitions, Absa would have to open new offices in key locations. It wants to be a “point of contact for clients at their head office locations, realising the importance of connecting to them where their key decisions tend to be made,” she says.

So far, the bank has set up representative offices in London and New York, reflecting the fact the UK/Europe and the US have been two of its most significant markets to date.

Absa is also considering how best to serve clients in the Middle East – as well as in key Asian locations such as Japan, Singapore and India – in the future. For several years it has also been working on plans to create a presence in China, noting “the importance of Chinese investment into Africa and the growth of trade flows between Africa and China”, says Ms Buss. These plans are likely to become a key focus once the group is confident its first two international offices are running at full capacity.

Building trust

Ms Buss observes that although the break from Barclays has been an opportunity to present a “fresh” and “vibrant” face to the market under a new brand that represents a “strong pan-African” organisation, it has not been of major material importance to existing corporate clients.

“Although it’s a new and dynamic brand, we still have that same knowledge and expertise, with a strong systemic base in Africa and we still operate in a similar manner.” 

But though the bank may have a strong track record it can point to, in other respects it is a new entity, with some new bankers having been recruited as well. Ms Buss acknowledges that building up trust in the Absa brand is important to the expansion of the international business.

“Building up any relationship takes time and you have to make yourself relevant to your clients,” she says. “It’s also important for us to differentiate ourselves. There are a number of banks with an African story to tell, so it’s for us to really establish ourselves as African geography experts and then to gain the client’s trust to the stage where they will execute with us in Africa.”

Long-term commitment 

Absa’s target clients are multinational corporates, international banks, global development organisations and development finance institutions (DFIs) with an existing presence in Africa, or one that they are looking to develop. Ms Buss says it is important such organisations are committed to doing business in Africa – and understand the need to take a long-term approach if they are to tap into the region’s potential.

“If you look back to 2011/12, there was a narrative around the idea of ‘Africa rising’ and there was a lot of world attention and focus on the opportunities and potential of the continent. The glow around that star has now somewhat diminished; I think Africa is entering an austere period. We’re seeing governments quite highly leveraged, and the wherewithal to be able to undertake the development is slightly challenged,” she says.

She believes that in the past there was perhaps too much of an expectation that governments would be able drive forward the continent’s economic development, particularly around upgrading infrastructure, when actually what is needed is for the public sector and government to work with financial institutions, DFIs and the private sector to deliver major projects.

Opportunities for growth

“There are still a number of opportunities, particularly in the infrastructure space, that remains, as well as around natural resources, and we’ve also seen some significant interest around consumer and agricultural sectors. So I think opportunity absolutely exists for development in Africa, as well as growth opportunities for corporates that want to invest. But how that gets done definitely requires a considered strategy and a long-term partnership approach,” she says.

For this reason, she believes Absa’s ideal clients are those for whom Africa is “an inherent part of their strategy and have the risk appetite to take it on”. She says: “When you navigate Africa, you are navigating it for the long term. You have to get your board comfortable with the risks that exist within Africa and the kind of long-term investment that is required, among the other challenges such as foreign exchange, liquidity and interest rate volatility.”

She gives the example of a hypothetical large multinational that has a presence across dozens of African countries, but only one or two people on the ground in each. “There are other banks that are less systemic that can assist that client,” she says. “Instead, we want to target those clients where Africa is central to their business, where they’re looking to invest in further development, where they will have significant numbers of people on the ground and where there will be longevity.”

For such clients, Absa can really differentiate and add value versus other banks. “We are able to have a holistic conversation with them, stemming from retail banking services for their employees, covering their trade finance and business banking needs all the way to up to their capital market’s needs,” she says.

A client-centric approach

The support of a steady and dependable banking partner has perhaps always been important for international companies that want to operate in Africa, and it is arguably even more so in the current circumstances. While, as of mid-May, the coronavirus pandemic has not taken hold in Africa to the same degree as in Asia, Europe and North America, it is still relatively early days and concerns remain for a potentially devastating impact, on both the population and economically.

“We will be looking to support our clients in their time of need as much as possible, so that we can try and ride this crisis together,” Ms Buss says. “In a time of crisis, providing that level of support and expertise on the ground is all part of our aim to build long-term and trusted relationships with our clients. These same clients, who include international corporates, DFIs and financial institutions, may well play a critical role in re-stimulating the economies of Africa.”

For Ms Buss, who only began in her current role in December 2019, the key priorities currently are to protect the bank, so it can manage its way through the economic turbulence and protect its staff. If she is fazed by the idea that Absa’s longer-term plans may be knocked off balance by current events, and so soon into her tenure, she gives no indication.

“We will continue on our trajectory and stay the course," she says. "I’m not for one instant saying that this won’t be challenging and there won’t be risks that we have to mitigate – but I do believe that this can stand us in good stead for being a client-centric operation, which is what we always set out to do.”

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