3 December 2015
Barclays PLC
Barclays announces further Non-Core disposals
Barclays PLC ("Barclays") has today agreed to sell its Italian Retail Banking network of 89 branches, including a broadly balanced portfolio of assets and liabilities, to CheBanca!, a member of the Mediobanca Group.
Barclays will continue to operate investment banking and corporate banking in Italy. It will also continue to manage the remaining retail mortgage portfolio.
The financial impacts of this transaction on Barclays are dependent, among other things, on the balance sheet of the business at completion of the transaction and foreign exchange movements up to completion. The current estimate is that the transaction will result in a 30 September 2015 pro forma decrease in risk weighted assets of approximately £0.8bn on completion, along with a loss after tax of approximately £200m, which will be booked in Q4 2015. The total impact of the transaction once completed is expected to result in a small decrease in Barclays' CET1 ratio and tangible net asset value.
Completion is subject to, among other things, regulatory approvals, and is expected to occur in Q2 2016.
Jes Staley, Barclays Group Chief Executive Officer, said: "This transaction is further evidence of the re-shaping of Barclays Group to focus on our Core businesses. We continue to make progress in the reduction of Barclays Non-Core as we target risk weighted assets of around £20bn at the end of 2017.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank our Italian colleagues in the businesses we are selling for their hard work and professionalism which has built strong customer and client relationships over many years and has made these businesses so attractive to CheBanca!. We are committed to making the transfer to CheBanca! a smooth one for our customers and colleagues."
Barclays Investment Bank and Lazard acted as financial advisers to Barclays on this transaction.
Ends
For further information please contact:
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Investor Relations
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Media Relations
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Kathryn McLeland
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Tom Hoskin
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+44 (0) 20 7116 4943
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+44 (0)20 7116 4755
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About Barclays
Barclays is an international financial services provider engaged in personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management with an extensive presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Barclays' purpose is to help people achieve their ambitions - in the right way.
With 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs over 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.
For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.home.barclays.
Forward-looking statements
This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to certain of the Group's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition and performance. Barclays cautions readers that no forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as 'may', 'will', 'seek', 'continue', 'aim', 'anticipate', 'target', 'projected', 'expect', 'estimate', 'intend', 'plan', 'goal', 'believe', 'achieve' or other words of similar meaning. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the Group's future financial position, income growth, assets, impairment charges and provisions, business strategy, capital, leverage and other regulatory ratios, payment of dividends (including dividend pay-out ratios), projected levels of growth in the banking and financial markets, projected costs or savings, original and revised commitments and targets in connection with the Transform Programme and Group Strategy Update, run-down of assets and businesses within Barclays Non-Core, estimates of capital expenditures and plans and objectives for future operations, projected employee numbers and other statements that are not historical fact. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. These may be affected by changes in legislation, the development of standards and interpretations under IFRS, evolving practices with regard to the interpretation and application of accounting and regulatory standards, the outcome of current and future legal proceedings and regulatory investigations, future levels of conduct provisions, the policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities, geopolitical risks and the impact of competition. In addition, factors including (but not limited to) the following may have an effect: capital, leverage and other regulatory rules (including with regard to the future structure of the Group) applicable to past, current and future periods; UK, US, Africa, Eurozone and global macroeconomic and business conditions; the effects of continued volatility in credit markets; market related risks such as changes in interest rates and foreign exchange rates; effects of changes in valuation of credit market exposures; changes in valuation of issued securities; volatility in capital markets; changes in credit ratings of the Group; the potential for one or more countries exiting the Eurozone; the impact of EU and US sanctions on Russia; the implementation of the Transform Programme; and the success of future acquisitions, disposals and other strategic transactions. A number of these influences and factors are beyond the Group's control. As a result, the Group's actual future results, dividend payments, and capital and leverage ratios may differ materially from the plans, goals, and expectations set forth in the Group's forward-looking statements. Additional risks and factors are identified in our filings with the SEC including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2014 (2014 20-F), which are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov; and in our Annual Report for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2014, which is available on the Barclays Investor Relations website at www.barclays.com/investorrelations.
Any forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date they are made and it should not be assumed that they have been revised or updated in the light of new information or future events. Except as required by the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority, the London Stock Exchange plc (the LSE) or applicable law, Barclays expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Barclays' expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. The reader should, however, consult any additional disclosures that Barclays has made or may make in documents it has published or may publish via the Regulatory News Service of the LSE and/or has filed or may file with the SEC, including the 2014 20-F.