About
Barclays plc is a financial services organisation and a multinational bank. It was established in 1690 and is headquartered in London, UK. Barclays is organised categorically into four sectors including corporate banking, personal banking, investment banking, and wealth management.
James Barclay became the partner of the bank in 1736. In the year 1896, multiple banks in the English province and London like Gurney's Bank and Backhouse's Bank came under a joint-stock bank and incorporated as Barclays and Co. Over the next few decades, Barclays bank expanded nationally.
Listing and Revenue
Barclays Bank is listed on London Stock Exchange.
| Revenue | £21.632 billion |
| Operating Income | £4.357 billion |
| Net Income | £3.354 billion |
| Total Assets | £1.140 trillion |
Products and Services
Barclays Bank offers products and services like Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, Wholesale Banking, Investment Banking, Private Banking, and Wealth Management among others.
History
Barclays origins goes back to 1690 when goldsmith bankers John Freame, a Quaker, and Thomas Gould started trading in the Lombard Street, London. "Barclays" became popular and slowly got associated with the business in 1736 when James Barclay; son-in-law of Freame's became a partner of the bank.
The bank moved its office to 54 Lombard Street in 1728. The bank had a visual of 'Sign of the Black Spread Eagle' that later became the visual identity of the bank.
In 1967, the Bank inaugurated its first cash dispenser. The bank has made multiple acquisitions as a part of its expansion plan. It has acquired London, Provincial and South Western Bank in 1918, British Linen Bank in 1919, and Mercantile Credit in 1975. It also took over Woolwich in 2000 and the North American operations of Lehman Brothers in 2008 during the subprime crisis.
2001, put a stop to bank's expansion as it closed 171 branches in the rural communities of the UK. On 31 October 2001, CIBC and Barclays merged their Caribbean operations and created a joint venture company. It is known as FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB).
Acquisition
Monopolies and Mergers Commission blocked the merger of Lloyds Bank and Martins Bank in 1969. However, the acquisition of Martins Bank was later allowed. It also sold the British Linen Bank subsidiary to the Bank of Scotland for a 25% stake in 1971. Barclays DCO also changed its name in 1971 to Barclays Bank International.
Barclays acquired Woolwich PLC for £5.4 billion in August 2000 and its name was also retained after the merger. The bank took over American credit card company Juniper Bank from CIBC in 2003 and renamed it Barclays Bank Delaware. It also acquired the 11th-largest Spanish bank Banco Zaragozano in that year.
Barclays spent US$469 million in cash from Wachovia Corp to buy HomEq Servicing Corporation in 2006. Apart from that, it also bought website Compare the loan. It also rebranded Woolwich branches as Barclays in 2006.
Awards and Recognition
Barclays bagged Electronic Platform of the Year award at the Global Capital Americas Derivatives Awards in 2019.
Subsidiaries
To shift its focus the UK and US market, the bank sold £1.5 billion worth of shares of its Barclays Africa Group subsidiary in May 2017. In September 2017, it sold its left
The bank announced in May 2017 that it would sell £1.5 billion worth of shares of its Barclays Africa Group subsidiary as part of its strategy to refocus its business from Africa to the UK and US. In September 2017, Barclay's sold off the last part of its retail banking segment on continental Europe. It also offloaded its French retail, wealth, and investment management operations to AnaCap.