Germany

Entered market 

1918

Barclays' roots in Germany date from the acquisition of the London, Provincial and South Western Bank, which merged with Barclays in 1918. The London, Provincial and South Western Bank held shares in Cox and Co (France) Ltd, set up in 1914 to provide banking services to British forces during World War One. In 1918, Cox and Co Ltd sold their remaining shares to Barclays, and the business was transferred to a new company, Barclays Bank (Overseas) Limited. When Barclays Bank (Overseas) Ltd was formed, the Cologne branch (established that same year to serve the British forces in Germany) was registered under the name Cologne Branch Barclays Bank (Overseas) Ltd. This branch was closed upon the withdrawal of the British troops in 1925. 1925 also saw the emergence of Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas) which formed from the amalgamation of the Colonial Bank, the Anglo-Egyptian Bank and the National Bank of South Africa. The Colonial Bank had previously opened a branch in Hamburg in 1921, which was then transferred to Barclays DCO. In 1961, the Hamburg branch, which had previously acted primarily as a service branch for offices overseas, was issued with an unrestricted banking licence. A group representative's office was then opened in Frankfurt in 1969, and business development offices opened in several cities: Dűsseldorf (opened 1974); Munich (1976) and Stuttgart (1986). In 1971, Barclays Bank DCO became Barclays Bank International Ltd, which acquired the Universal Kredit Bank in 1978. Further acquisitions came in 1990, when Barclays purchased Merck Finck and Company, a Bavarian private bank, with branches in Munich, Dűsseldorf and Frankfurt. In 1992, the branches in Dűssledorf and Hamburg ceased trading under the Barclays name and operated under the name Bankhaus Merck, Finck and Co. Barclays also joined with Hertie, the third largest German store group and one of the largest issuers of credit cards in Germany, in order to expand into this underdeveloped market. Barclaycard began operating in Germany in 1991, through the launch of Doppel, a combined Euro and Visa card. In 1994, the European Retail Banking Group was formed to bring together the retail banking operations of France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Germany. Merck Finck was later sold to Kredietbank in 1999. A co-branded card was launched with Netto-Marken Discount in 2007. Barclaycard was relaunched in the country in the same year. In 2008, Barclaycard launched a new loans platform, BANCOI as well as a co-branded credit card with British Airways, followed by a Webmiles Visa in 2010. Barclaycard was also the first credit card issuer within Germany to offer value-based pricing in 2009. In 2010, Barclays Wealth launched Bmarkets, a retail structured investment business. 2011 saw the establishment of Barclays Corporate which was accompanied by a new office within the country, as well as a partnership with Germanwings, a co-branded credit card known as the Germanwings credit card double. In 2012, Barclays entered the savings and deposit business with LeitzinsPlus, Germany's first instant-access savings account. All information is correct as of August 2015.

Traded as

Barclays Bank (France)