LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - New Barclays ChiefExecutive Jes Staley is considering selling some or all of theBritish bank's African operations as part of his strategicreview, the Financial Times said.
Staley has raised questions about the strategic fit of the large African business with the rest of Barclays, but nodecision has been taken yet, the FT said on Wednesday, citingpeople familiar with the matter.
Barclays declined to comment.
Staley, who took over as CEO two weeks ago, is expected toreview all parts of Barclays' businesses and outline his plansaround the time of annual results on March 1.
Barclays has been present in Africa for more than 100 yearsand has said the continent offers good growth options, despitelacklustre returns in recent years.
The Africa business had 36 billion pounds ($54.03 billion)of assets on a risk-adjusted basis and made a profit of 791million pounds in the first nine months of this year, or 13percent of the bank's core profits.
The FT said Staley's review came after investor confidencein South Africa was shaken by President Jacob Zuma's decision tochange his finance minister twice in less than a week at a timewhen the economy is under severe stress.($1 = 0.6664 pounds) (Reporting by Steve Slater; editing by Susan Thomas)