Barclays expands private bank to France and Italy in bid to grow EU business
Barclays has expanded its private banking division to France and Italy as it looks to grow its European wealth business in the wake of Brexit.
The bank said on Monday that it had appointed Bernard Corneau and Carlo Baronio as heads of private bank coverage in France and Italy respectively.
The duo will be supported by Barclays’ newly established European hub in Dublin as the bank joins many other lenders in shifting from its London base.
Corneau and Baronio will target the ultra-high-net-worth end of the market, defined as clients with investable assets of around $100m.
“Despite the Covid-19 crisis, we have continued to see strong growth in assets under management,” Jean-Christophe Gerard, chief executive of Barclays private bank said.
“Europe remains the second-biggest market for high net worth after the US, roughly 20 per cent of the total global market, and we see opportunities to grow our market share in countries such as France and Italy where there is still strong creation of wealth.”
Gerard said Barclays was also thinking about other European markets such as Germany, where it can leverage existing relationships through its corporate and investment bank.
Barclays does not disclose profits or assets under management for its private bank, making it hard to gauge the success of a business that faces tough European rivalry from opponents looking to grow.