Barclays facts for kids
 |
|
|
|
|
Formerly
|
Barclays Bank plc (1896–1985) |
|---|---|
| Public | |
| Traded as |
|
| ISIN | ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=GB0031348658 GB0031348658] |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 17 November 1690 in the City of London, Kingdom of England |
| Headquarters | |
|
Key people
|
|
| Products |
|
| Revenue |  £25.378 billion (2023) |
|
Operating income
|
 £6.557 billion (2023) |
| £5.323 billion (2023) |
|
| Total assets | £1.477 trillion (2023) |
| Total equity | £71.864 billion (2023) |
|
Number of employees
|
81,000 (2023) |
| Divisions |
|
Barclays plc is a big British bank with its main office in London, England. It's a universal bank, which means it offers many different financial services. Barclays works through two main parts: Barclays UK and Barclays International. It also has a special company called Barclays Execution Services that helps support both divisions.
Barclays started a long time ago, in 1690. It began as a business run by goldsmiths in London. Goldsmiths used to keep people's money safe and lend it out, much like banks do today. In 1736, James Barclay became a partner, and his name became part of the business. Later, in 1896, several smaller banks joined together to form "Barclays and Co." Over the years, Barclays grew into a bank that serves people all across the country.
Barclays has done some cool things in banking history. In 1967, it launched the world's first cash machine (ATM)! The bank has also bought many other companies, including the Woolwich in 2000. In 2008, Barclays even bought parts of Lehman Brothers, a big financial company in the US.
Today, Barclays is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. It's considered a very important bank for the world's financial system. Barclays operates in over 40 countries and has more than 80,000 employees. It is one of the largest banks in Europe.
Barclays UK handles banking for people in Britain, including credit cards and services for small and large businesses. Barclays International includes the Corporate and Investment Bank, which helps large companies and governments with financial advice and services. It also has a Consumer, Cards & Payments business.
Contents
About the Name
The bank's name, "Barclays," has never used an apostrophe (like Barclay's). It was first officially registered in 1896 as "Barclay and Company, Limited." Later, in 1917, it became "Barclays Bank Limited," and in 1982, it changed to "Barclays Bank PLC."
Barclays' Journey Through Time
Early Beginnings (1690-1900)
Barclays started on November 17, 1690. Two Quaker men, John Freame and Thomas Gould, began a business as goldsmith bankers in Lombard Street, London. The name "Barclays" became part of the business in 1736 when James Barclay, who was John Freame's son-in-law, became a partner. In 1728, the bank moved to a new location, which was known by its sign, the "Black Spread Eagle." This eagle later became a key part of the bank's logo.
One of the Barclay family members, David Barclay of Youngsbury (1729–1809), was known for being against slavery. He chose to free the people he had enslaved in English Jamaica.
In 1896, twelve different banks in London and other parts of England joined together to form Barclays and Co. Many of these banks, like Goslings and Sharpe and Gurney's Bank, also had Quaker roots. When they combined, Barclays held about a quarter of all deposits in private English banks.
Growing Bigger (1900-1945)
Between 1905 and 1916, Barclays grew its network of branches by buying smaller English banks. It expanded even more in 1918 by joining with the London, Provincial and South Western Bank. In 1919, Barclays acquired the British Linen Bank.
In 1925, Barclays combined its overseas operations, which included the Colonial Bank, National Bank of South Africa, and the Anglo-Egyptian Bank. These became known as Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas), or Barclays DCO.
Modern Banking (1946-1980)
In May 1958, Barclays made history by being the first UK bank to hire a female bank manager, Hilda Harding. She managed the Hanover Square branch in London.
Barclays started its first credit card in the UK, called Barclaycard, in 1966. A year later, on June 27, 1967, Barclays put out the world's first cash machine in Enfield. The British actor Reg Varney was the first person to use it!
| Act of Parliament | |
|
|
| Long title | An Act to make provision respecting the articles or regulations for the government of Barclays Bank D.C.O. to make provision with respect to its general meetings to increase its authorised capital and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 5 & 6 Eliz. 2. c. vii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 June 1957 |
|
Status: Repealed
|
|
In 1969, Barclays was allowed to buy Martins Bank. Also that year, the British Linen Bank was sold to the Bank of Scotland. Barclays DCO changed its name to Barclays Bank International in 1971.
| Act of Parliament | |
|
|
|
| Long title | An Act to provide for the manner in which Barclays Bank International Limited may alter, revoke or add to its objects; and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1974 c. ix |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 23 May 1974 |
|
Status: Repealed
|
|
In August 1975, Barclays bought Mercantile Credit Company.
From 1980 to the 2000s
Barclays Bank International grew its business in 1980 by taking over American Credit Corporation.
| Act of Parliament | |
|
|
|
| Long title | An Act to provide for the reorganisation of the Barclays group of companies by the transfer to Barclays Bank International Limited of the undertaking of Barclays Bank PLC; and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1984 c. x |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 26 June 1984 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repeals/revokes |
|
|
Status: Current legislation
|
|
In 1985, Barclays Bank and Barclays Bank International merged. The main company became Barclays Group Plc, and the UK banking for everyday people was put under "Barclays Bank PLC."
In 1986, Barclays bought two UK stock market firms, de Zoete & Bevan and Wedd Durlacher. They combined these with Barclays Merchant Bank to create Barclays de Zoete Wedd (BZW). Also that year, Barclays sold its business in South Africa.
Barclays introduced the Connect card in June 1987. This was the first debit card in the United Kingdom.
In 1996, Barclays bought Wells Fargo Nikko Investment Advisors and combined it with another part of its business to form Barclays Global Investors.
Two years later, in 1998, the BZW business was split up. Barclays kept the parts that focused on debt and structured finance, which became the new Barclays Capital (also known as BarCap). Barclays Capital grew to have offices in over 29 countries.
In August 2000, Barclays took over Woolwich PLC, which used to be a building society. This was a big purchase worth £5.4 billion. The Woolwich name was kept for a while, and its main office stayed in Bexleyheath.
In 2001, Barclays closed 171 branches in the UK, many in smaller towns.
On October 31, 2001, Barclays and CIBC joined their businesses in the Caribbean to create a new company called FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB).
In 2003, Barclays bought the American credit card company Juniper Bank and renamed it "Barclays Bank Delaware." The same year, it also bought Banco Zaragozano, a Spanish bank.
Barclays became the main sponsor of the Premier League football league in 2004. In May 2005, Barclays moved its main headquarters from Lombard Street to One Churchill Place in Canary Wharf. Also in 2005, Barclays bought a 54% share in Absa Group Limited, which is South Africa's largest bank for everyday people.
In 2006, Barclays bought HomEq Servicing Corporation. That year, Barclays also decided to change Woolwich branches into Barclays branches and move Woolwich customers to Barclays accounts. The Woolwich brand would then be used just for Barclays mortgages. Barclays also sold its share in FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB).
Trying to Merge with ABN AMRO
In March 2007, Barclays announced plans to merge with ABN AMRO, a large bank from the Netherlands. However, on October 5, 2007, Barclays decided to stop its offer because not enough ABN AMRO shareholders supported the deal.
To help pay for its offer for ABN AMRO, Barclays sold small parts of its shares to China Development Bank and Temasek Holdings, which is an investment company from Singapore.
Financial Steps
On August 30, 2007, Barclays had to borrow £1.6 billion from the Bank of England. This happens when banks need a quick loan to settle their accounts at the end of the day. Barclays said this was due to a technical computer problem, not a lack of money.
In February 2008, Barclays bought the credit card brand Goldfish, gaining 1.7 million customers. Barclays also bought a large share in the Russian bank Expobank. Later that year, Barclays started its operations in Pakistan.
Barclays decided to raise money from private investors instead of taking money directly from the UK government. They believed this was best for their shareholders. In July 2008, Barclays tried to raise £4.5 billion.
In October 2008, Barclays confirmed it would not take money from the British government. Instead, it would raise £6.5 billion from private investors. Barclays raised £7 billion from investors in Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
Buying Lehman Brothers
After Lehman Brothers, a big US financial company, went bankrupt in September 2008, Barclays decided to buy its North American business. This helped Barclays grow its presence in investment banking in the US.
On September 16, 2008, Barclays announced it would buy the investment banking and trading parts of Lehman Brothers, including its New York skyscraper. A judge approved the deal on September 20, 2008. This meant Barclays would take on a lot of Lehman's assets and responsibilities for many former employees.
Selling Parts of the Business
On June 12, 2009, Barclays sold its Global Investors unit, which included its exchange-traded fund business, iShares, to BlackRock for US$13.5 billion. Barclays also sold its Retail Banking unit in Spain to CaixaBank in 2014.
In June 2015, Barclays announced it would sell its US wealth and investment management business to Stifel. In May 2017, the bank said it would sell shares of its Barclays Africa Group subsidiary. This was part of its plan to focus more on its business in the UK and US. In September 2017, Barclays sold the last part of its retail banking in Europe by selling its French operations.
Recent News
In October 2012, Barclays announced it would buy the UK business of ING Direct. This transfer was completed in February 2013, and ING Direct became Barclays Direct.
To prepare for Brexit, Barclays borrowed £6 billion from the Bank of England between April and June 2017. In August 2021, Barclays announced a $400 million investment in its business in India.
In September 2020, Barclays invested in Barrenjoey Capital Partners, a new investment bank in Australia. In May 2022, Barclays increased its ownership in this firm.
On March 1, 2023, Barclays bought Kensington Mortgages, a company that specializes in mortgages. Kensington Mortgages has about 600 employees.
In February 2024, Barclays announced it would buy the credit cards, loans, and savings parts of Tesco Bank. Tesco will keep its insurance, ATMs, and other services.
How Barclays Works Today
Barclays operates as two main parts: Barclays UK (BUK) and Barclays International (BI). These are supported by a service company called Barclays Execution Services (BX).
- Barclays UK handles banking for people and businesses in the UK. This includes personal banking, business banking, and Barclaycard for UK customers.
- Barclays International includes the "Corporate and Investment Bank" and "Consumer, Cards and Payments" businesses. These parts work with large companies, institutions, and governments around the world.
- Barclays Execution Services is a company that provides technology, operations, and other services to all parts of the Barclays Group.
Main Parts and Companies
Barclays has many important parts and smaller companies, including:
- Barclaycard – its global credit card business
- Barclays Bank plc – for corporate banking in the UK
- Barclays Bank UK plc – for banking for everyday people in the UK
- Barclays Bank Delaware (formerly Juniper Bank)
- Barclays Corporate
- Barclays Investment Bank
- Barclays Private Clients International – based in the Isle of Man
- Barclays Pakistan
- Barclays Partner Finance
- Barclays Portugal
- Barclays Rise (a special program for new financial technology companies)
- Barclays Shared Services (in India)
- Barclays Wealth – for managing money and private banking
- Kensington Mortgages
Branches and ATMs
_(7692990530).jpg)
Barclays has over 4,750 branches in about 55 countries. Around 1,600 of these are in the United Kingdom. In the UK, you can also use some Barclays services at Post Office branches. Most Barclays branches have ATMs that are open 24/7. In the UK, Barclays ATMs are usually free for Barclays customers and customers of many other banks.
Barclays is part of the Global ATM Alliance. This is a group of international banks that lets customers use each other's ATMs for free when they travel to other countries.
Who Leads Barclays?
- Chairman: Nigel Higgins (since May 2019)
- Chief Executive: C. S. Venkatakrishnan (since November 2021)
.jpg)
Past Chairmen
The role of group chairman started in 1896.
- Francis Bevan (1896–1916)
- Frederick Goodenough (1917–1934)
- William Tuke (1934–1936)
- Edwin Fisher (1937–1946)
- Sir William Goodenough (1947–1951)
- Anthony Tuke (1951–1962)
- John Thomson (1962–1973)
- Sir Anthony Tuke (1973–1981)
- Sir Timothy Bevan (1981–1987)
- John Quinton (1987–1992)
- Andrew Buxton (1993–1999)
- Sir Peter Middleton (1999–2004)
- Matthew Barrett (2004–2007)
- Marcus Agius (2007–2012)
- Sir David Walker (2012–2015)
- John McFarlane (2015–2019)
Past Chief Executives
The role of group chief executive started in 1992.
- Andrew Buxton (1992–1993)
- Martin Taylor (1994–1998)
- Sir Peter Middleton (1998–1999)
- Michael O'Neill (1999)
- Matthew Barrett (1999–2004)
- John Varley (2004–2010)
- Bob Diamond (2011–2012)
- Antony Jenkins (2012–2015)
- Jes Staley (2015–2021)
Sponsorships
In 2007, Barclays agreed to a 20-year deal to name the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City. This is the home of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team.
Barclays also sponsored the 2008 Dubai Tennis Championships.
From 2010 to 2015, Barclays sponsored the Barclays Cycle Hire bike rental scheme in London.
Barclays was a main sponsor of the Premier League football league, starting from the 2003–04 season.
Arms
 |
|
See also
In Spanish: Barclays para niños
- List of largest banks
- Chip Authentication Program (PINsentry)
- List of banks in the United Kingdom
- The European Association for Banking and Financial History
- Too big to fail
