Barclays to sell bullion vault to China's ICBC

Barclays has agreed to sell its London precious metals storage business to China's ICBC Standard Bank.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which last week joined the prestigious London clearing system for gold, silver, platinum and palladium, is buying Barclays' vaults with capacity for 2,000 tonnes of gold, together with client and operational contracts.

It is one of the largest such vaults in Europe, and the acquisition will follow January's purchase by ICBC of the lease on Deutsche Bank's London bullion vault.

The contract is expected to complete in July, ICBC said, subject to various approvals.

Barclays said neither side will reveal the financial terms of the deal.

"This sale represents further progress with our Non-Core rundown as we work to simplify Barclays’ operations and achieve our cost and capital reduction commitments," said John Mahon, co-head of Barclays non-core.

Last week ICBC became the first bank since 2005 to join the London clearing system for gold, silver, platinum and palladium, which is managed by London Precious Metals Clearing Limited (LPMCL), which operates a central electronic metal clearing hub.

Most global ‘over-the-counter’ gold and silver trading is cleared through the London clearing system, with each clearing party needing to have access to reserves of physical metal.