Barclays to sell $1.1bn of US credit card debt to Blackstone
Reuters
Published Feb 27, 2024 08:21AM ET
Updated Feb 27, 2024 11:01AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays has agreed to sell about $1.1 billion of credit card debt in the United States to Blackstone (NYSE:BX), in a deal the British bank said would free up capacity to expand lending and reduce balance sheet risk.
Barclays said the agreement reflected its recently-announced strategy to prioritise growing lending to consumers, and would reduce the bank's risk weighted assets by around 1 billion pounds.
Banks globally have been making greater use of credit risk transfers to shed risk from loan portfolios, Reuters has reported, with investors sharing the risk of losses.
Blackstone's investment has been made through insurance accounts managed by the company's asset-based finance group. Barclays will continue to service the accounts for a fee.
Barclays' investment bank acted as an advisor to Blackstone on the transaction.
"During our Investor Update, we said that we would leverage strategic partnerships to execute risk transfer agreements to reduce capital requirements. I am delighted to announce this first agreement in our U.S. cards book," Barclays Finance Director Anna Cross said.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.