Spain’s Bankinter announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with Barclays Bank to buy its business in Portugal for €100 million, representing a loss for Barclays of around €272 million.
Barclays Bank in Spain was sold last year to Caixa Bank for £633 million with 270 branches and more than 500,000 clients to be managed by the Spanish giant.
Barclays announced in May last year that it is restructuring its business and selling off some of its operations in Europe, such as Portugal, Spain, Italy and France.
This European reorganisation was part of the cost cutting drive by former Barclays boss Antony Jenkins who was fired in July this year after a row with the head of Barclays’ investment banking division over its future.
Jenkins, was referred to as ‘St Antony’ after he took over in 2012 to clean up Barclays’ tattered image and dispose of unprofitable business divisions, including the struggling autonomous European branch networks.
Barcalys Portugal is being sold with 1,000 staff servicing 84 branches. The Union representing workers has yet to comment but it is thought that the business has been bought as growth in Spain is hampered by competition and low interest rates.
