Barclays Buys Egg’s Portfolio
- British Barclays will incorporate Egg’s assets in its UK division Barclaycard. This transaction with the credit institution concerns almost 1.15 million credit card accounts and 2.3 billion pounds gross receivables.
- Competition authorities must still agree to this transfer, which should be concluded during the first semester 2011.
- Once more, Barclays takes advantage of its Anglo-Saxon rivals‘ difficulties to strengthen its position in the card industry. In autumn 2009, it bought Citi’s credit card portfolio in Portugal.
- Citi owns Egg, since 2007 when the American bought it from the British insurer Prudential for 575 million pounds. Egg tried to enter the French issuing market in 2002. This well advertised initiative proved unsuccessful and the company had to leave the country after two years.
See September-October 2009 Watch