Barclays beat a hasty retreat from Australia two years ago amid massive spending cuts. Is the British bank eyeing a return to the market?
London-based Barclays looks poised to come back to Australia, «Australian Financial Review» (behind paywall) reported on Tuesday. Barclays has met with estate agents and headhunters in order to build back up a local team.
The move would represent a reversal from 2016, when Barclays CEO Jes Staley ordered roughly 230 bankers sacked after a review of its Australian and wider Asian business in Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia.
Barclays Is Coy
Barclays did little to dampen the speculation it could reverse course and come back to Australia. «As a global corporate and investment bank focused on delivering attractive returns for our shareholders, we are constantly looking at opportunities to grow,» a Barclays spokesperson told finews.asia.
Under Staley, Barclays also offloaded its wealth management business in Asia to Bank of Singapore. The British bank had to reduce the price to S$227.5 million after some bankers and their clients didn't move to the Singaporean lender, as expected.
