said April 6 thatit opened a representative branch in Johannesburg, becoming the first Spanishbank to establish a presence in South Africa.

Thelender will provide specialized consultancy services and financial solutions toSpanish companies with interests in the Southern African region through theJohannesburg branch, which has been operational since the start of 2016. Thebank noted that it is due to open a representative branch in Algeria, whichwould join a pair of transactional branches in Morocco and a representativebranch in Cairo.