Barclays infuses ~3,000 cr in India ops to bolster biz

Barclays Bank Plc has infused about ~3,000 crore as capital in its banking operations in India to accelerate growth in corporate and investment banking, and private clients businesses.

The expansion in Tier-1 capital reinforces Barclays’ commitment to India, the British lender said on Thursday. With this, the bank’s total invested capital in the country will increase to over ~8,300 crore.

Barclays India’s Tier-1 ratio was at 14.71 per cent in the first quarter of this financial year (Q1FY22), according to India Ratings. It was 14.23 per cent in FY21 and 14.87 per cent in the year before that.

This provides the required capital buffers against unexpected credit losses from stressed sectors, if and when the losses materialise.

Jaideep Khanna, head of Barclays, Asia Pacific, and country CEO, India, said the bank has ambitious growth aspirations, and looks to leverage the attractive opportunities that the present situation offers.

As economic activity gathers momentum, there is increased demand for capital from clients.

The bank mainly lends to corporations with exposures largely to highly rated clients and subsidiaries/operations of multinational companies.