Barclays loses £500m on sale of Spanish units to Caixabank - UPDATE

UK banking group Barclays is to offload part of its Spanish business to Caixabank as part of its non-core asset disposal programme, but said it would lose £500m on the sale.

The retail banking, wealth and investment management, and corporate banking businesses in Spain - which represent total assets of €22.2bn as of 30 June - will be sold for €800m (around £630m) in cash.

However, Barclaysd said that the loss after tax from the transaction would amount to £0.5bn - £0.4bn being reported in the third quarter and £0.1bn upon completion. However, its leverage exposure would fall by £15bn as a result of the disposal.

The deal will see 2,400 Barclays employees and 262 branches transfer to the Barcelona-based bank.

Barclays will retain its credit and investment banking arm.

The UK bank also on Monday completed the sale of its retail banking business in the United Arab Emirates to Abu Dhabi Islamic bank, making a pre-tax gain of £119m.

"I am pleased to be announcing further progress on Barclays non-core asset reductions through the transactions announced today," said chief executive Antony Jenkins.

"We remain on track to rebalance Barclays as part of our strategy to deliver sustainable returns for our shareholders."

BC