As part of its continued expansion into high-growth areas, UK-based Barclays Plc (BARC.L) announced on Monday that it has acquired clearance from Australia’s prudential regulator to operate as a foreign bank in the country.
Barclays, the UK’s third-largest bank by market capitalization, injected money into its India unit in August to take advantage of the country’s growing corporate and investment banking activity.
Record low interest rates have driven the world’s top banks to seek new revenue streams and expand into new countries, with London-listed HSBC (HSBA.L) focusing more heavily on Asia this year to bolster growth.
In 2018, Barclays reopened its Australia office to provide wealth management services, and later invested in a domestic financial advising firm that currently has a “strong pipeline of transactions,” according to the lender.
The bank’s efforts to provide investors with easier access to the Pacific nation will be accelerated now that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has granted it a foreign authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) licence, it added.
The Sydney branch of Barclays Bank Plc is anticipated to open as a foreign bank branch by April 2022, according to the lender.
