Profile - Southern synergy

Absa Capital has spent the past year building the foundations of a model that combines Absa's rand-denominated balance sheet with Barclays Capital's risk management capabilities. Now, the bank is ready to crank up a gear. Nick Sawyer talks to Ian Axe, chief operating officer of Absa Capital

It is never easy going through a merger. People are usually worried about their jobs, the culture of the two firms can be poles apart, and trading and risk management systems are often incompatible. It takes time.

Indeed, in the 15 months since the UK’s Barclays Bank acquired a majority stake in South Africa’s Absa for around R30 billion ($3.9 billion), executives at Absa Capital, the group’s investment banking arm, have had to deal with a rebranding, have conducted a comprehensive review