Credit Suisse, which is ceasing to serve clients in nine African countries, has agreed to pass them to Barclays, a bank with historic links to the continent.

Credit Suisse has signed a pact with Barclays to serve high net worth clients in Africa after the Zurich-listed lender decided to shut services in a variety of markets, reports said.

"Credit Suisse has signed a private banking client referral agreement with Barclays as part of the plan to exit nine non-core wealth management markets primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa – as announced in November 2021 as part of the bank's Group Strategy Review," Credit Suisse told this news service in a statement.

Barclays has had a long-standing presence in the Africa market. 

A report by Bloomberg said the affected assets stand at about $2.5 billion.

The affected countries are Botswana, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, the Seychelles, Tanzania and Zambia.

Credit Suisse is due to issue fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 financial results this coming Thursday.