Business Closing
Barclays PLC, a British multinational investment banking and financial services company, is closing down its bank and securities business in Korea in 39 years after it started a business here. Concerns are also raising that other global financial services holding companies can successively close business in Korea as part of restructuring and business reorganization in the Asian regions.
According to financial investment industry sources on January 19, Barclays has set up the internal policy to close its banks and Barclays Capital Securities offices in Seoul by the end of this year. A senior official from a foreign securities firm said, “Barclays has decided to operate its business in Asia, mainly on Hong Kong, Singapore and India, this year. Accordingly, its banks and securities offices in Korea will be closed down.”
With more than 300 years of history, Barclays is a leading investment bank in the U.K. with an equity capital of 10 trillion won (US$8.29 billion or GBP 6 billion as of 2014). In Korea, the company is known as a sponsor of English Premier League (EPL), the first division league of soccer in England.
Barclays first entered the Korean market, with opening a bank branch in in Seoul in 1977. After the company opened a securities branch in 1993, it closed a bank three years later. However, it received an approval to start its banking operations from the financial authorities again in 2001. The company’s latest decision is largely due to poor performance in the Korean market. Its securities branches in Korea posted 18 billion won (US$14.92 million) in net loss in 2014 and made a loss of 4.5 billion won (US$3.73 million) as of third quarter last year. Barclays got a net profit of 9.6 billion won (US$7.96 million) in banking business in 2014, but the headquarters has decided to close down the business as well.