"I am pleased that we have reached today’s agreement with AnaCap Financial Partners for the sale of our French retail and wealth and investment management operations," Barclays CEO Jes Staley said in a statement.
The deal follows eight months of talks and will see the UK bank shed a network of 74 retail branches, a life insurance business, wealth and investment management, and brokerage operations.
It will reduce Barclays’ risk-weighted assets by almost $632 million and cut annual costs by some $164 million. The bank will keep its French corporate and investment banking businesses.
"The business in France is an attractive one, with a strong customer base and proposition, but it is no longer central to our strategy," Staley said, adding this was a step toward creating "a more focused, simpler Barclays."
The sale will complete Barclays’ exit from retail banking in continental Europe. The 325-year lender operates in over 40 countries and has a strong presence in its two home markets of the United Kingdom and the United States.
