Barclays set to buy Standard Life Bank for at least £226m
Barclays agreed yesterday to buy the banking business of Edinburghbased insurer Standard Life for at least £226million.
The news follows speculation last month that a sale was on the way.
The banking giant has about 15million retail banking customers in the UK.
It will take on a further 350,000 through the deal along with Standard Life’s £5.5billion savings book.
Frits Seegers, chief executive of Barclays’ retail and commercialbanking business, said: "This transaction brings to Barclays highquality savings and mortgage books, and an attractive customer base."
Standard Life Bank, which was launched in 1998, has no branches and made an underlying pretax profits of £26million last year.
It has an affluent savings base of 287,000 accounts with an average deposit of more than £19,000.
The business also has an £8.8billion loan book and 78,000 mortgage accounts, although the bank has limited its lending activity during the current downturn.
The banking arm is no longer part of the insurer’s longterm plans for the business, but Standard Life and Barclays have also agreed to explore joint opportunities in UK retail savings and investments, beginning with the development of a simplified pension product.
Standard Life chief executive Sir Sandy Crombie said: "We no longer believe that increasing the lending activity of the bank is consistent with our longterm financial objectives."
"The transaction we have agreed with Barclays, along with the strategic agreement we have also announced today, supports our plan for growth as an assetmanaging business."
About 270 staff will transfer to Barclays when the deal completes early next year.
Just last week, Standard Life concluded an "extensive" worldwide search for a new chief executive by naming its finance director as Sir Sandy’s successor.
David Nish will take on the top job from January 1. The group announced its search for a new CEO in March, a month after Sir Sandy turned 60 and following widespread speculation over his retirement plans.
Original source : Russell Lynch
