Barclays sells off its Emirates retail banking arm for £107m
BARCLAYS yesterday confirmed the sale of its United Arab Emirates retail arm for £107m.
The bank sold the business to Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) as part of its plans to focus on international markets where it believes Barclays has a comparative advantage.
Barclays boss Antony Jenkins announced the result of its strategic review back in February with a plan to focus the bank’s energies on its operations in the UK, the US and Africa.
“The decision to exit the UAE retail banking space, while not taken lightly, allows us to focus on our businesses in corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management,” John Vitalo, head of Barclays in the region, said in a statement.
The UAE arm currently has 110,000 customers, most of whom are expatriate workers. ADIB currently has around 600,000 customers.