Barclays said to attract interest for Iberian credit card business

Barclays has reportedly attracted the interest of Spain’s Santander and US private equity group Apollo, as it looks to offload its credit card operations in Spain and Portugal.

Reuters cited sources as saying the bank was putting its Spanish and Portuguese Barclaycard operations up for sale and has solicited non-binding offers for the combined group ahead of a 19 January deadline, hoping to finalise a deal by the end of March.

Barclays, which has already disposed of its Iberian retail and corporate banking divisions, is currently in the throes of a three-year turnaround plan to cut costs and improve returns.

Sources, who told Reuters that Bankinter and Banco Popular were also interested, said the Barclaycard portfolio could fetch between €300m and €600m.

At 1512 GMT, Barclays shares were up 2.2% to 191.70p.