Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s Kennedy Bungane resigned as head of its South African corporate and investment banking unit to join Barclays Plc (BARC) after 20 years with Africa’s largest lender.

Bungane, 37, will become chief executive officer of Barclays Africa and head of Africa strategy at Absa, the South African lender controlled by London-based Barclays, Absa said in a statement today.

Bungane’s departure is the second senior resignation from Standard Bank’s corporate and investment banking unit in the past six months. The South African lender said Richard Gush, its head of corporate and investment banking on the continent, resigned in February to join Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit in Johannesburg. Standard Bank’s Rob Leith, head of strategic expansion, joined Troika Dialog Group Ltd., Russia’s oldest investment bank, in November.

“I have an opportunity to be part of a global bank and it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” Bungane said in a telephone interview from Johannesburg today. “I joined Standard Bank straight out of school and have had an incredible time,” he said, adding that he will start in his new job in July.

To contact the reporter on this story: Renee Bonorchis in Johannesburg at rbonorchis@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net