Barclays planned change of name to ABSA in Kenya challenged

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Barclays Bank of Kenya’s planned change of trade name to ABSA has run into strong headwinds after a local company went to court to stop the shift on grounds that it reserved and has been using the name for more than a decade, according to the BusinessDaily.

ABSA Kenya Limited is seeking to permanently restrain Barclays from adopting ABSA as the trade name in line with the recent changes in the bank’s ownership at the continental level.

ABSA Kenya, which was incorporated in 2005, says it reserved the name with the registrar of trademarks for exclusive use and that it has incurred huge financial losses since Barclays announced plans to rebrand.

The losses, it says, arise from the confusion that the coming into the market of another entity with a similar name has and is bound to cause among its clients.

Last Month, a Barclays Africa Group announced plans to rebrand to Absa Group by 2020, subject to regulatory approval in all ten countries that it operates in. This follows the successful sale of Barclays PLC’s stake in the bank’s Africa’s operations.