Strategically important subsidiary of Barclays Bank PLC. Strong market position, especially in South African retail banking. Resilient earnings. The higher-than-average social and operational risks in South Africa, the bank's main area of concentration. Weak asset quality and moderate provisioning. Above-average structural liquidity risks, which are common to South African banks. The public information ('pi'; unsolicited) rating on Absa Bank Ltd. (Absa) reflects Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' view of the bank's strategic importance to its majority shareholder, U.K.-based Barclays Bank PLC (Barclays; AA-/Negative/A-1+), its strong market position in South African retail banking, and resilient earnings. The ratings are constrained by the higher-than-average social and operational risks in South Africa (foreign currency rating BBB+/Negative/A-2), weakened asset quality and aggressive provisioning, and
