What's happened
Barclays strikes a deal to buy most of Tesco's banking business for
£600 million, including credit cards, loans, and savings operations.
Why it matters
The acquisition marks a significant consolidation in the UK retail banking sector, with Tesco Bank focusing on its core retail business and Barclays seeking to boost its consumer operations.
What the papers say
The Times reports that Sainsbury's recently announced plans to quit banking, while The Guardian highlights Tesco's aim to be the best provider of financial services in the UK. The Independent emphasizes that the deal allows Tesco to focus on its food business, and The Scotsman notes that the acquisition follows a period of speculation about Tesco selling its banking business.
How we got here
The acquisition follows a trend of major retailers divesting from banking operations to focus on core retail businesses.
More on these topics
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Barclays plc is a British multinational investment bank and financial services company, headquartered in London, England. Apart from investment banking, Barclays is organised into four core businesses: personal banking, corporate banking, wealth managemen
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Tesco Bank is a British retail bank which was formed in July 1997, and which has been wholly owned by Tesco plc since 2008. The bank was formed as part of a 50:50 joint venture between The Royal Bank of Scotland and Tesco, the largest supermarket in the U
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Tesco plc, trading as Tesco, is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer with headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
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Coimbatore Sundararajan "C. S." Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, is an American banker. He replaced Jes Staley as the group chief executive of the British multinational bank Barclays in November 2021.
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country located off the northwestern coast of the European mainland.