Barclays

Barclays plc

Headquarters at One Churchill Place in Canary Wharf, London
Formerly	Barclays Bank plc (1896–1985)[1]
Company type	Public
Traded as	LSE: BARC NYSE: BCS FTSE 100 Component
ISIN	GB0031348658
Industry	Banking Financial services
Founded	17 November 1690; 333 years ago (1690-11-17) in the City of London, Kingdom of England
Headquarters	One Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, England, United Kingdom
Key people	Nigel Higgins (group chairman) C. S. Venkatakrishnan (group chief executive)
Products	Retail Banking Commercial Banking Investment Banking Wholesale Banking Private Banking Wealth Management
Revenue	£25.378 billion (2023)[2]
Operating income	£6.557 billion (2023)[2]
Net income	£5.323 billion (2023)[2]
Total assets	£1.477 trillion (2023)[2]
Total equity	£71.864 billion (2023)[2]
Number of employees	81,000 (2023)[3]
Divisions	Barclays UK Barclays International
Website	barclays.co.uk

Barclays plc (/ˈbɑːrkliz/, occasionally /-leɪz/) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.^[4]

Barclays traces its origins to the goldsmith banking business established in the City of London in 1690.^[5] James Barclay became a partner in the business in 1736. In 1896, twelve banks in London and the English provinces, including Goslings Bank, Backhouse's Bank and Gurney, Peckover and Company, united as a joint-stock bank under the name Barclays and Co. Over the following decades, Barclays expanded to become a nationwide bank. In 1967, Barclays deployed the world's first cash dispenser. Barclays has made numerous corporate acquisitions, including of London, Provincial and South Western Bank in 1918, British Linen Bank in 1919, Mercantile Credit in 1975, the Woolwich in 2000 and the North American operations of Lehman Brothers in 2008.^[6]

Barclays has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. It is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board.^[7] According to a 2011 paper, Barclays was the most powerful transnational corporation in terms of ownership and thus corporate control over global financial stability and market competition, with Axa and State Street Corporation taking the 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively.^[8][9] Barclays operates in over 40 countries, employs over 80,000 people and is the fifth largest bank in Europe by total assets.^[10]

Barclays UK comprises the British retail banking operations, consumer credit card business, wealth management business, and corporate banking for small, medium and large-sized businesses in the UK.^[11] Barclays International consists of Barclays Corporate and Investment Bank (formerly known as Barclays Capital) and the Consumer, Cards & Payments business. The investment banking business provides advisory, financing and risk management services to large companies, institutions and government clients. It is a primary dealer in Gilts, U.S. Treasury securities and various European Government bonds.