30th Jun 2005 11:00
Barclays PLC30 June 2005 30th June 2005 BARCLAYS AND FORENINGSSPARBANKEN CREDIT CARD OPERATION BEGINS TRADING EnterCard, the new joint venture between Barclays PLC (Barclays) andForeningsSparbanken (FSB, known as Swedbank), which was announced on 4thFebruary 2005, began operations today. EnterCard is headquartered in Stockholm and has 600,000 customers andapproximately £280 million in credit card receivables across Sweden and Norway.EnterCard will offer FSB's retail banking customers competitive new cardproducts and will also target other market opportunities across the Nordicregion. This is the latest step in Barclays strategy to grow its global credit cardbusinesses with the intention that, within ten years, the international creditcard business of Barclaycard should be as meaningful a contributor to theBarclays group as Barclaycard UK. The move follows the acquisition of JuniperFinancial Corporation in the USA in December 2004. "This is an exciting market and we believe we have a winning combination withFSB's customer and distribution strengths in Scandinavia and Barclaycard'sleading-edge risk management and customer acquisition skills" commentedBarclaycard Chief Executive, Gary Hoffman. - ends - Contact at Barclays: Peter StanhopePublic Relations, BarclaycardTel: ++ 44 (0) 1604 25 1229 James S. JohnsonInvestor Relations, BarclaysTel: +44 (0) 207 116 2927 Notes to Editors About Barclays PLC Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail andcommercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management andinvestment management services. Operating in over 60 countries and employingover 78,000 people we move, lend, invest and protect money for over 18 millioncustomers and clients worldwide. With over 300 years of history and expertise inbanking, Barclays PLC has six major divisions. UK Banking, delivers bankingproducts and services to over 14 million personal customers and 745,000businesses in the UK. Barclaycard is a multi-brand credit card and consumerlending business with an increasing international presence and is one of theleading credit card businesses in Europe. Barclays Capital, the investmentbanking division, provides corporate, institutional and government clients withsolutions to their financing and risk management needs. Barclays GlobalInvestors is one of the world's largest asset managers and a leading provider ofinvestment management products and services. Private Clients, Barclays wealthmanagement operation has over 300,000 affluent and high net worth clients.International Retail and Commercial Banking, the global retail and commercialbanking operation, with 2.2 million international clients, has operations incountries which currently include the Caribbean, France, Spain, Portugal, Italyand Africa. For more information about Barclays PLC, please visitwww.barclays.com About ForeningsSparbanken ForeningsSparbanken (Swedbank) is a leading Nordic-Baltic banking group with 8.4million retail customers and 396,000 corporate customers in Sweden, Estonia,Lithuania and Latvia. Together with co-operating independent savings banks andpartly owned banks the group has more than 750 branches in Sweden. In the Balticcountries the group has another 250 branches. Outside of the Nordic-Baltic homemarkets, the group is present in Copenhagen, Kaliningrad, London, Moscow, NewYork, Oslo, Shanghai, St.Petersburg and Tokyo. As of December 2004, the grouphad total assets of SEK 1,020 billion and approximately 15,000 employees. Formore information about ForeningsSparbanken, please visit http://www.swedbank.com This document is presented by Barclays PLC and its subsidiary undertakings(together "the Group"). It contains certain forward-looking statements withinthe meaning of Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, asamended, and Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, withrespect to certain of the Group's plans and its current goals and expectationsrelating to its future financial condition and performance, in particular withrespect to Barclaycard and its expansion strategy. These forward-lookingstatements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only tohistorical or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words suchas "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal","believe", or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, forward-lookingstatements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events andcircumstances, including UK domestic and global economic and businessconditions, market related risks such as interest rate and exchange rate risks,the policies and action of governmental and regulatory authorities, changes inlegislation and the impact of competition, a number of which are beyond theGroup's control. As a result, the Group's actual future results may differmaterially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in the Group'sforward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalfof Barclays speak only as of the date they are made. Barclays does not undertaketo up-date forward-looking statements to reflect any changes in Barclay'sexpectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions orcircumstances on which any such statement is based. The reader should, however,consult any additional disclosures that Barclays has made or may make indocuments it has filed or may file with the US Securities and Exchangecommission including its most recent Annual Report onForm 20-F. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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