Barclays applies for new licence to meet UK ring-fence rules

Barclays (BARC.L) has applied for a new UK banking licence to comply with new rules requiring it to separate its domestic retail banking arm, highlighting the bigger task it faces in restructuring than its rivals.

Britain's big lenders must set up so-called ring-fenced banks for their UK retail and small business customers, so they are kept separate from riskier investment banking activities. The aim is to provide greater protection to depositors and taxpayers.

Barclays has faced more of a challenge than rivals in preparing for the new rules, which much be in place by 2019, industry sources have previously told Reuters.

It is likely to be the only major bank that needs a new licence, as all its UK businesses are bundled into one bank - Barclays Bank Plc. Rivals such as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and HSBC (HSBA.L) already have more than one UK licence or separate licences for UK units.

"We have a much more complicated situation because we don't have a ready-made bank already functioning ... We need to create another bank and we've asked for another licence for that to happen," Barclays Chairman John McFarlane said on Wednesday.

Britain has speeded up the process for applying for new bank licences to six months or less, so Barclays' application should be largely administrative.

It has also faced more challenges on how to restructure, sources said. The decision is crucial for how banks will look in the future and how they deal with customers.

Barclays is expected to choose a 'narrow' ring-fenced bank, meaning it will put relatively few customers and activities inside the new unit, the industry sources said. That is in contrast to most other banks, which intend to put more customers and activities into a 'broad' ring-fenced business, the sources added.

Barclays declined to provide more details on the likely shape and size of its ring-fenced bank on Wednesday.

 

"The big issue we are trying to wrestle with is once we create two banks, each of those banks has to be standalone strong, therefore what we put in each of the banks needs to be carefully thought out," McFarlane told reporters after the bank reported a 12-percent rise in profits.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/07/29/uk-barclays-results-britain-idUKKCN0Q324620150729