Barclays 2005 Annual Report Download - page 7

Barclays PLC
Annual Report 2005 5
1.1
Wealth Management Barclaycard International Retail
and Commercial
Banking
£78.3bn
Total customer funds*
11.2m
UK customers
4.3m
International cards
in issue
1,516
International branches
including Absa
Wealth Management serves
affluent, high net worth and
corporate clients, providing
private banking, offshore banking,
stockbroking, asset management,
financial planning services and
manages the closed life fund.
Private banking offers bespoke banking and
investment solutions to high net worth
individuals in the UK and abroad, including
investment and wealth structuring advice
and banking services. Offshore banking
serves the corporate banking needs of
clients in the offshore islands and overseas
together with wealth management and
banking services for expatriates and non-UK
nationals living in the UK & overseas.
Stockbroking offers execution only
stockbroking services. Asset management
provides bespoke advisory and discretionary
investment advice and multi-manager
investment services to mass affluent clients
as well as some high net worth individuals.
Financial Planning provides tailored and
impartial financial advice on life, pensions,
investments and inheritance planning
including estates & trusts services to both
personal and business customers.
Barclaycard is a multi-brand
international credit card and
consumer lending business; it
is one of the leading credit card
businesses in Europe.
In the UK, Barclaycard manages the
Barclaycard branded credit cards and other
non-Barclaycard branded card portfolios
including Monument, SkyCard and Solution
Personal Finance. In consumer lending,
Barclaycard manages both secured and
unsecured loan portfolios, through Barclays
branded loans, mostly Barclayloan, and also
through the FirstPlus and Clydesdale
Financial Services businesses.
Outside the UK, Barclaycard provides credit
cards in the United States through
Barclaycard US (previously Juniper),
Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal
and a number of other countries. In the
Nordic region, Barclaycard operates
through Entercard, a joint venture with
FöreningsSparbanken (Swedbank).
Barclaycard Business processes card
payments for retailers and issues purchasing
and credit cards to business customers and
to the UK Government.
Barclaycard works closely with other parts
of the Group, including UK Retail Banking,
UK Business Banking and International Retail
and Commercial Banking, to leverage their
distribution capabilities.
International Retail and
Commercial Banking (IRCB)
provides Barclays international
personal and corporate
customers with banking services.
It includes the Absa Group in
South Africa in which Barclays
acquired a majority stake on
27th July 2005.
IRCB provides a range of banking services,
including current accounts, savings,
investments, mortgages and loans to
personal and corporate customers across
Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, the Caribbean,
Africa and the Middle East.
It works closely with other parts of the
Group, including Barclaycard, UK Banking,
Barclays Capital and Barclays Global
Investors, to leverage synergies from product
and service propositions.
Absa Group Limited is one of South Africa’s
largest financial services organisations
serving personal, commercial and corporate
customers predominantly in South Africa.
Absa serves retail customers through a
variety of distribution channels and offers
a full range of banking services, including
basic bank accounts, mortgages, instalment
finance, credit cards, bancassurance products
and wealth management services; for
commercial and large corporate customers
Absa offers customised business solutions.
As at 31st December 2005, Barclays owned
56.6% of Absa Group Limited’s ordinary
shares and has voting control.
*Comprises customers deposits and assets
under management.