NEWS
27th Oct 2016 Q3 2016 Results Announcement
27th Apr 2016 1st Quarter Results
01st Mar 2016 Barclays plc 2015 Full Year Results (PDF 2.1MB)
29th Oct 2015 Q3 2015 Results Presentation (PDF, 500KB)
29th Oct 2015 Q3 2015 Results Announcement (PDF, 1.1MB)
28th Oct 2015 Barclays appoints James E. Staley as Group Chief Executive
29th Jul 2015 2015 Interim Results
08th Jul 2015 BARCLAYS PLC - Change of Leadership


VIDEO/AUDIO

24th May 2016 Barclays CEO Staley on Performance, Economy, Markets

EVENTS

23rd Feb 2017 Full Year 2016 Results

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Investor News
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Barclays publishes complaints data for H1 2016
26 Aug 2016 10:00

Barclays has today published total reportable complaints figures for the first half of 2016.

A full breakdown of its Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reportable complaints is available here: www.home.barclays/complaints.

In summary, compared to H1 2015:

•Complaints excluding Payment Protection Insurance are down 10%

•Banking complaints are down 11%

•Overall complaints levels remain steady (2% increase year on year)

Matt Hammerstein, Head of Client and Customer Experience at Barclays, said:

“We want everyone using Barclays to have a brilliant customer experience and will not stop until we achieve this. We are listening to feedback so we can fix the things that aren’t working and exceed what our customers expect from their bank.”

As part of our on-going commitment to deliver products and services that address what our customers want and need from their bank we have:

•Introduced voice security technology for all our customers to make our telephone banking service both easier to use and more secure. The technology identifies the caller based solely on their voice without the need to recall security questions or passwords. Not only does this make the process quicker and more stress free, it also helps protect our customers from fraud as voice is a highly personal form of identification.

•Worked to help our customers identify and protect themselves from fraud. We offer a dedicated fraud website where our customers can access everything they need to know, including top fraud prevention tips. We are the only UK bank to run a national TV advertising campaign warning people of some of the tactics used by scammers. Our Digital Eagles have also been working with our business customers to provide Cyber Security Business Club events across the country.

•Launched SmartBusiness to offer the power of a market research department to time-starved small business owners. SmartBusiness analyses business banking and card payment transactions to present data and intelligent insights to help customers manage and grow their business, identify opportunities and take informed actions and decisions.

•Opened Eagle Labs to give customers and non-customers in local businesses and communities the opportunity to learn about new technologies by providing workspaces and tools. We now have 5 Eagles Labs open across the country in under-utilised spaces in our branches and offices.

•Created a dedicated Armed Forces portal, where we host all our existing products and services that are relevant to the military community in one easily accessible place making it simpler for serving and former military personnel to understand and access our services.

•Signed up our 500,000th Barclaycard customer to their free Experian Credit Score, helping them to better understand their financial footprint and get on top of their finances. Barclaycard launched the initiative in November last year, becoming the first financial services brand in the UK to offer customers free access to their Experian Credit Score online and on-the-go via the Barclaycard app.

•Improved existing services, such as redesigning the instructions for our Pinsentry device to make it clearer and easier for our customers. As a result of our changes, each month around 55,000 additional payments are now being made successfully by customers using their Pinsentry device.

In July, Barclays was also ranked first for complaints handling within the financial services sector in the UK Customer Satisfaction Index which is published by the Institute of Customer Service.

Barclays Non-Core rundown accelerates: Sale of Italian retail banking network completes
30 Aug 2016 09:21

Barclays PLC announces today it has completed the sale of its Italian retail banking network to CheBanca!, a member of the Mediobanca Group.

The transaction shows further progress in the rundown of Barclays Non-Core, resulting in a 30 June 2016 pro forma decrease in Risk Weighted Assets of £0.6bn and a loss before tax of £258m which was booked in Q4 2015.

Barclays’ residual mortgage portfolio and other Non-Core retail, wealth and corporate loans will remain part of Barclays Non-Core, with the intention to exit or rundown over time.

Barclays will continue to operate investment banking and corporate banking in Italy.

Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues in the Italian retail network and wish them well for the future. Their commitment and professionalism will be a great asset to CheBanca!, just as it has been to Barclays.”

“Accelerating the rundown of Barclays Non-Core is a key part of our strategy to close the gap between the Group’s returns and those in our strong Core business. Last week we completed the sale of our analytics and index business to Bloomberg, and today’s announcement highlights again how we are on track to reach £20bn RWAs by the end of 2017.”

1 September 2016

Barclays PLC - Total Voting Rights and Capital

In accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule 5.6.1R, Barclays PLC notifies the market that as of 31 August 2016, Barclays PLC's issued share capital consists of 16,917,183,163 Ordinary shares with voting rights.

There are no ordinary shares held in Treasury.

The above figure (16,917,183,163) may be used by shareholders (and others with notification obligations) as the denominator for the calculation by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, Barclays PLC under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5407376

My top up at 136p a couple of weeks ago is looking good.

Well driver yer spooked the market there! :-)

Bj
Also spooked HSBC topped up at 452p at the same time.

Barclays and Wave complete world first blockchain trade finance transaction
07 Sep 2016 09:00

Barclays and innovative start-up company Wave have become the first organisations to execute a global trade transaction using blockchain technology.

The letter of credit transaction between Ornua (formerly the Irish Dairy Board) and Seychelles Trading Company is the first to have trade documentation handled on the new Wave platform, with funds sent via Swift. It is hoped this landmark transaction could herald a new era of simpler, safer and faster trade finance.

Currently trade transactions of this nature often involve a high number of participants in different jurisdictions around the world, which in turn requires a significant amount of paperwork, counter-signing and courier journeys.

The new blockchain based system developed by Wave uses distributed ledger technology to ensure that all parties can see, transfer title and transmit shipping documents and other original trade documentation through a secure decentralised network, eliminating many of the current inefficiencies in international trade. The new system could therefore speed up trade transactions, reduce costs for companies around the world and reduce the risk of documentary fraud.

Companies around the world stand to save significant costs and time, with the shipping industry and financial institutions expected to be some of the biggest beneficiaries. Barclays has identified substantial direct cost savings that can be made on courier costs alone using the Wave system, and it could also bring down the time taken to complete an end to end trade finance transaction from days to a few hours.

Wave was one of eleven companies to have gone through the Barclays Accelerator programme in New York last summer, during which time it received expert mentoring from the bank. Since then it has been working with Barclays’ Trade & Blockchain team in the UK and South Africa to explore the various use cases of its innovative technology. Barclays is also seeking to involve other banks in supporting adoption of Wave’s system, with the hope that this can develop into an industry wide improvement in how trade documentation is managed.

This announcement follows other blockchain firsts and exploratory work by Barclays. Last year, the bank signed a proof of concept with Safello to explore how blockchain technologies can be harnessed in the financial services sector. Barclays was part of the initial group of banks to join the R3 consortium designed to spearhead crypto technology solutions in financial services and also was the first big British bank to form a partnership with a digital currency firm, Circle, facilitating social payments on the blockchain using Circle's payments app by providing the underlying fiat currency accounts. More recently, Barclays, with its Smart Contract Templates application, publically demonstrated R3’s corda platform for the first time.

Baihas Baghdadi, Global Head of Trade & Working Capital at Barclays, said: “One of the biggest headaches in global trade currently is the vast movement of paper required to facilitate transactions, with multiple organisations in the chain. That is why we’ve been very keen to partner with Wave in using blockchain technology to save time and money for our clients, and potentially transform trade finance for businesses around the world.”

Gadi Ruschin, CEO at Wave said: “Effective use of blockchain technology really can have a huge impact on the future of trade. By adopting our system, trade can be done more easily and more cheaply. Studies show that as much as 5% of the cost of a trade transaction comes from the handling of documentation, so there is a significant opportunity to improve this element of the trading process. We think we’ve got the right answer, and look forward to working with Barclays to develop it further and create an industry wide solution.”

David O’Rourke, Group Trade Finance Manager at Ornua Co-operative, said: “Moving to paperless trade would be hugely beneficial in supporting the supply chain, through reduced costs, error free documentation, and fast transfer of original documents to our customers worldwide.”

Following the successful pilot Barclays and Wave will be working with a select group of trade finance clients to develop the service further.

Barclays Runs Largest Ever Hackathon in Financial Services
27 Sep 2016 13:39

Last weekend saw Barclays run the largest ever hackathon in financial services across two continents as part of its continued drive to identify new and innovative products and services for the banking industry.
 
The Rise Hackathon: Episode II – The Bank Awakens saw 547 teams and 1,045 participants compete over 36 hours on Saturday and Sunday in Mumbai, India, and Manchester, UK, where Barclays has two of its Rise innovation hubs.  Rise is Barclays’ open innovation programme – a network of physical hubs and virtual networks designed to stimulate the growth of innovative start-ups operating in the financial technology (fintech) sector.
 
The hackathon was designed to address the challenges and opportunities presented to the banking industry by the introduction of the Directive on Payment Services (PSD2), a new European banking regulation coming into effect in 2018.  Barclays invited a global network of developers, start-ups and fintechs to take part in the weekend’s hackathon to explore some of the best and most innovative emerging ideas and disruptive technologies that could help shape the future of banking.
 
Michael Harte, Barclays Head of Group Innovation said: “Hackathons allow us to dynamically collaborate with some of the brightest minds in the global fintech start-up communities around the world. It’s about our staff co-creating solutions with external teams; coming together for 36 hours to work on specific customer and business solutions - an intense burst of idea storming and experimental hacks to build innovative prototypes and minimum viable products or features for customers.  Rapid collaboration through hacks helps fuel and accelerate innovation to benefit customers and clients across the globe.”
 
The hackathon marked the first time Barclays has released its APIs (application programming interfaces) to external developers via its API store – demonstrating how the bank is shifting its focus even further towards open innovation; a willingness to share its internal data and technology to work together with the start-up community to drive innovation for the benefit of customers and clients.  Peter Josse, CIO for Barclays UK said: “We understand the critical importance of digital and data and the role they’re playing in reshaping the financial services industry. We’re passionate about leading the way for open banking and providing our customers and clients with secure, resilient next gen products and services.”
 
The hackathon was done in partnership with over 20 of the bank’s technology partners, including Google, Twitter, IBM, Amazon and Microsoft, offering the participating teams support from a range of leading industry experts to help grow and develop their innovative ideas.
 
The hackathon took place at the Bombay Stock Exchange, Mumbai, in partnership with Acehacker and at Barclays’ Rise hub in Manchester in partnership with Software City Global and Central Working. Across the two sites, there were 105 working prototypes created and 6 winners selected.  Prizes included £1,500 (1,50,000 INR) for the winning teams, who also  have the opportunity to be supported by Barclays in developing their prototypes into real life solutions. 
 
For more information visit http://www.risehackathon.com/

From yesterday:

04 October 2016
 
Barclays Non-Core progress continues with sale of Barclays Bank Egypt
 
Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays") has today agreed to sell its Retail and Corporate Banking business in Egypt ("Barclays Bank Egypt") to Attijariwafa Bank S.A. 
 
The transaction is estimated to result in a proforma Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio benefit of c.10bps on completion, in part reflecting an expected reduction in risk weighted assets of approximately £2bn. This proforma is calculated as at 30 June 2016, and does not reflect factors affecting the Group's CET1 ratio since 30 June 2016.
 
Barclays Bank Egypt has approximately 1,500 employees and 56 branches.  Completion is subject to regulatory approvals, and is currently expected to occur by the end of 2016.
 
Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, said: "I am pleased to announce a further reduction in our Non-Core business. Today's announcement demonstrates our continued focus on improving the Group's returns and our ability to execute our strategy quickly."
 
 "I want to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues in Egypt.  It is their hard work, professionalism and strong customer and client relationships that have made this business so attractive to Attijariwafa Bank S.A."
 
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5427040

Barclays announces agreement to sell its UK Trust business
06 Oct 2016 12:23

Barclays Bank PLC (“Barclays”) today announces that it has signed an agreement to sell its UK Trust business to ZEDRA, an independent global specialist in trust, corporate and fund services, with offices in 10 jurisdictions.

While an attractive business with strong growth potential, the UK Trust business is no longer central to Barclays’ strategy and was moved to Barclays Non-Core.

Clients of Barclays UK Trust business will become clients of ZEDRA upon completion of the transaction. Transferring clients will then benefit from ZEDRA’s full product range. Barclays remains committed to providing its UK Trust customers and clients with a full level of service until the transfer occurs.

Commenting on the sale, Harry Harrison, Head of Barclays Non-Core, said: “The sale of the UK Trust business represents further progress in reducing the portfolio of Barclays Non-Core. In 2016 alone we have agreed the sale of Barclays Bank Egypt, our Asian Wealth and Southern Europe cards businesses, completed the sale of our Portuguese retail bank and entered exclusive discussions for the potential sale of our French retail network. Our ongoing Barclays Non-Core progress is a key element of the Group strategy announced on 1 March."

Akshaya Bhargava, CEO, Barclays Wealth, Entrepreneurs and Business Banking said: “Barclays already holds a minority stake in the ZEDRA following the sale of the Offshore Trusts business in Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Singapore and Switzerland to the same group in January 2016. The minority stake demonstrates Barclays’ interest in the ongoing success of this business and its commitment to supporting continuing relationships with clients and the advisory community.

“We know from experience that in ZEDRA we have found a buyer that satisfies our core criteria of being able to maintain exceptional service for our clients, is able to integrate and enhance the careers of our colleagues and who demonstrated a commitment to taking this business forward. Our priority is supporting all our impacted colleagues and clients throughout this transition. I want to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues in the business we are selling for their hard work and professionalism, which has built strong client relationships over many years and has made this business so attractive to ZEDRA.”

Niels Nielsen, ZEDRA CEO said: “This is an important strategic acquisition for us and we welcome the staff and clients of Barclays UK Trust business to the ZEDRA Group. The move adds to our UK capabilities and other services we already provide. This development marks another step in our growth plan offering clients a balanced and global geographic reach.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Terms of the sale are not disclosed. The sale is expected to have a minimal impact on Barclays’ reported financials.

About Barclays
Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US.
With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide. 
 

Barclays announces further sale of Italian Non-Core assets (Font "5" in blue)
12 Oct 2016 10:30

Barclays Bank PLC (“Barclays”) has today agreed the sale of a portfolio of salary secured loans in Italy to IBL Banca S.p.A.
 
The portfolio forms part of Barclays Non-Core and comprises c. £260m of gross receivables. The sale will reduce Non-Core Risk Weighted Assets by a further c. £170m and will be broadly neutral to Barclays’ CET1 ratio on completion. 
 
Harry Harrison, Head of Barclays Non-Core, commented: “Last week we announced agreements to sell our Egyptian bank and our UK Trust business. Today’s announcement further highlights the momentum we have in Barclays Non-Core and the progress we’re making.”
 
Completion, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2017.
 
Barclays completed the sale of its Italian retail banking network in August 2016, and continues to operate investment banking and corporate banking in Italy. Barclays’ residual mortgage portfolio and other Non-Core retail, wealth and corporate loans in Italy will remain part of Barclays Non-Core, with the intention to exit or rundown over time.

Broker Forecast - Investec issues a broker note on Barclays PLC
BFN
Investec today upgrades its investment rating on Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) to buy (from hold).

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5434495

Q3 2016 Results
Thursday, 27 October 2016

Announcement Q3 2016 Results Announcement (PDF, 1.4MB)

Management Speech Q3 2016 Results Management Speech (PDF, 216KB)

Presentation Q3 2016 Presentation (PDF, 0.7MB)

Webcast Q3 2016 Results webcast replay
Replay dial in:
+44 (0)121-260-4861 (all locations)
1-844-230-8058 (US)
Access code: 4188123# (this facility will be available until 24 November 2016)

Barclays completes sale of life risk insurance book in Spain to Vidacaixa
01 Nov 2016 09:30

Barclays has completed the sale and transfer of its Spanish life risk insurance book to Vidacaixa, S.A.U. de Seguros y Reaseguros, a member of the Caixa Group.

As part of the agreement, 105,000 insurance policies and c.€70m of insurance liabilities (together with their related assets) will transfer to the purchaser. The sale represents further progress against Barclays' cost and Risk Weighted Asset reduction targets. Neither party will be disclosing further financial terms of the deal.

Up until the beginning of 2016, Barclays Vida y Pensiones Compañía de Seguros, S.A.U. (BVP) provided life insurance and pension products in Spain, Italy and Portugal. BVP sold its Spanish pensions assets and liabilities to Vidacaixa in June 2016. This year it has also sold its Portuguese insurance business to Bankinter Seguros de Vida, and its Italian life insurance business to CNP Assurances.

Barclays completed the sale of its Spanish retail bank to CaixaBank S.A. in January 2015, and announced the proposed sale of its Barclaycard consumer payments business in Spain and Portugal to Bancopopular-e in April 2016. Barclays continues to operate investment banking and corporate banking services for global companies in Spain.

Commenting on the sale, Harry Harrison, Head of Barclays Non-Core, said: “We continue to make good progress with the sale of non-core assets, reducing RWA within the unit and simplifying Barclays overall. In the last month, we have announced the sales of Barclays Bank Egypt, our UK Trusts business, and a loan portfolio in Italy.”

About Barclays
Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US.
With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.
For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.home.barclays .

Barclays Non-Core: Sale of Irish insurance businesses
08 Nov 2016 09:55

Barclays Bank PLC today announces it has agreed to sell Barclays Insurance (Dublin) Designated Activity Company and Barclays Assurance (Dublin) Designated Activity Company to Monument Re Limited for an undisclosed sum.

The two businesses provide underwriting services for Payment Protection Insurance and Income Protection policies, which Barclays ceased to sell between 2010 and 2012. The sale includes the portfolio of c.500,000 remaining policies and related licences. Barclays will retain any PPI-related risks associated with the portfolio.

Barclays Bank Ireland operations, including Corporate Banking and Wealth and Investment Management, will continue to provide a full range of banking services as normal. All employees will transfer to Monument Re Limited upon completion, which is expected in Q1 2017, subject to regulatory approval.

Harry Harrison, Head of Barclays Non-Core commented: “This sale marks another step forward for Barclays Non-Core as we continue to manage down costs and risk-weighted assets, and simplify the activities of the Group more broadly. We are confident that our colleagues in these businesses will have a positive future with Monument and we thank them for their hard work and support over many years.”

About Barclays
Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US.
With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.

Sale of Barclaycard Southern European card business underlines Barclays Non-Core progress
11 Nov 2016 11:10

Barclays Bank PLC has completed the sale of its Barclaycard consumer payments business in Portugal and Spain to WiZink Bank S.A., a Spanish online bank formerly known as Bancopopular-e, which is 51% owned by Varde Partners and 49% owned by Banco Popular Español, S.A.

The business comprises approximately £1.2bn of assets and was sold at a small premium to gross receivables, with customers and employees transferring to WiZink. The sale will also result in a reduction in Risk Weighted Assets of £1.0bn and a reduction in Non-Core costs.

Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, commented: “During 2016 we have made significant headway in the reduction of our Non-Core unit, a key component of our Group strategy. We have completed the sale of our risk analytics and index business, Portuguese and Italian retail banks, offshore trusts business and our UK precious metals storage facilities. We have also entered into exclusive discussions for the potential sale of our French retail bank, and agreed to sell our Asian Wealth and Egyptian retail banking businesses. The sale of the Barclaycard consumer payments business in Spain and Portugal is further tangible progress towards our target of reducing Non-Core Risk Weighted Assets to c.£23 billion in 2017.”

“The Barclaycard consumer payments business in Portugal and Spain is a good business with a highly talented and dedicated workforce but no longer fits with our strategic ambitions. I am sure it will continue to thrive as part of WiZink.”

The sale was announced in April 2016 and the completion follows receipt of regulatory and other applicable approvals.

Barclays continues to operate its corporate and investment banking businesses in Spain and Portugal, which are important elements within the bank’s franchise.

barcs are going to rocket up and away .over the next 3 months

Barclays launch Contactless Cash
28 Nov 2016 09:00


•Barclays is launching the UK’s first contactless mobile cash service – offering customers a quicker, more secure way to withdraw their money

•Customers can withdraw up to £100 in-branch, with just a tap of their Android smartphone or contactless debit card

•The service will be piloted in the North before rolling-out across over 180 UK-wide Barclays branches

Barclays is launching the UK’s first contactless mobile cash service, offering customers a quicker, more secure way to withdraw their money.
 
The service is initially being piloted in the North before rolling out to over 180 Barclays branches in the New Year. It will be available on over 600 in-branch machines, allowing customers to withdraw cash with just a tap of their Android smartphone or contactless debit card.
 
There are three different ways customers will be able to use this service:
 
Android Smartphone – Insert amount and PIN on Barclays Mobile Banking and tap to withdraw

•Those in a hurry can save time by logging in to their Barclays Mobile Banking app to pre-select the amount of cash they want to withdraw and insert their PIN. They then have 30 seconds to tap their phone against the contactless reader on the in-branch machine, which will automatically dispense their cash.

Android Smartphone or Contactless Debit Card – Tap and complete on machine

•Barclays customers with an Android smartphone or contactless debit card only need to tap their phone/card against the contactless reader, before entering their PIN on the machine and withdrawing their cash as normal.
Whilst giving many customers access to cash using only their smartphone, Contactless Cash also boasts increased security. Whether using your smartphone or card, it removes the risk of magnetic card skimming and distraction fraud, as the device never needs to leave your hand.
 
Ashok Vaswani, CEO of Barclays UK said: “We are always looking for new ways to make our customers lives easier and their finances even more secure. Our customers now expect to be able to use their smartphone to make their everyday purchases. We want taking out cash to be just as easy. With Contactless Cash customers can quickly and securely take-out money with just a tap of their smartphone – a first for the UK.”

Barclays launches market-first, fully integrated online investing service
28 Nov 2016 09:00


•Customers’ online banking and investment accounts fully integrated for the first time through a single log-in

•The launch draws expertise from across the bank - combining Barclays’ digital expertise and Barclays Stockbrokers’ direct investing heritage

Barclays has today announced the launch of a new online direct investing service that puts people in control of their financial decisions and helps them achieve their goals. The service will provide Barclays customers1 with the first opportunity to view their investments, savings and current accounts in one place through a single log-in – making it easier for them to access more of their finances than ever before.

The new direct investing service has been developed drawing upon extensive customer feedback and expertise from across Barclays. Banks are in a particularly good position to develop solutions which help people understand investing; they have long-term relationships with customers who interact with them on a daily basis and at key stages in their lives, as they make important financial decisions.

A new simple fee structure, free from hidden charges, has been designed to make it easy for customers to understand exactly what they will pay. There is one fee and one transaction charge - common charges levied by other providers such as exit fees, reinvesting dividends and probate valuations are not charged. Independent research2 shows that for many it will be amongst the lowest-cost online investment services available. 

The pricing structure has been developed to encourage customers to take a long-term approach to saving and investing, choosing to buy and hold investments for a number of years. The new service is aimed at those who are comfortable making their own investment decisions, without advice.

Initially, the service will be available to Barclays customers, and existing Barclays Stockbrokers customers will be transferred across to the new service next year. The service will be made more widely available to non-Barclays customers in 2017.

Rupert Dickinson, Managing Director, Head of Direct Investing at Barclays, says: “This launch combines the direct investing services from one of the UK’s leading providers, with banking services from the UK’s second largest bank. We have over 30 years’ experience in direct investing through Barclays Stockbrokers and our new, integrated service draws expertise from across the whole business.”

Akshaya Bhargava, CEO, Wealth and Investments UK at Barclays, says: “This is the first step towards a suite of new services which will help address the savings and investing knowledge gap in the UK. The world of investing can often seem complex, and changes to the advice market in the UK have left many people without the help they need to navigate it. It is vital that the banking industry draws upon its experience to help customers by providing accessible, value-for-money services that build confidence.”

The new direct investing service follows the launch of Financial Wings, an online personal finance hub designed to give people the knowledge and confidence to take control of their money. Barclays has a history of delivering easy-to-use digital innovations3 that put customers in control of their finances - ultimately making banking, saving and investing simpler for all.

Barclays announces further Non-Core disposals: Sale of Wealth and Investment Management business in Singapore and Hong Kong to Bank of Singapore completes
28 Nov 2016 09:15

Barclays PLC today announces that it has completed the sale of its Wealth and Investment Management (WIM) business in Singapore and Hong Kong to Bank of Singapore Limited, the wholly-owned private banking subsidiary of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC).

Barclays WIM in Singapore and Hong Kong, serving high net worth and ultra high net worth clients in those locations, was confirmed as no longer central to Barclays’ strategy in March 2016, and became part of Barclays Non-Core. The sale was announced in April 2016.

Barclays continues to operate Corporate and Investment Banking businesses in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO said: “This is another example of the great progress we have made this year in Barclays Non-Core, as we aim to reduce risk weighted assets to £23 billion in 2017 and reintegrate the remainder of the unit back into the Group.

“I would like to thank those skilled and dedicated colleagues in Hong Kong and Singapore, who have moved to become part of Bank of Singapore, for their hard work for both Barclays and our Wealth clients in the region. I wish them great success in the future. Asia remains a crucial component of the Barclays business plan, and we continue to actively serve our clients across the region from our offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, and Japan.”

The purchase price, representing 1.75% of Barclays WIM Singapore and Hong Kong’s assets under management (AUM) on completion, was US$225 million. The transaction will result in a pro forma decrease in risk weighted assets of approximately £0.8 billion.

The majority of Barclays WIM clients in Singapore and Hong Kong transferred to Bank of Singapore on completion of the transaction. They will benefit from Bank of Singapore’s full product range which includes property and insurance financing, wealth planning, robust platform and advisory services, as well as OCBC Bank’s extensive commercial banking capabilities in the region.