Barclays To Merge With ABN Amro
After weeks of speculation with regards to the future of Barclays Bank, it has been confirmed that a merger with Dutch counterpart and ABN Amro has been agreed.
In a deal valued at some £45 billion, the two Banking giants will merger to create a super group valued at a massive £94 billion!
The enlarged group will have :-
· 47 million customers
· 27 million credit card holders
· 217,000 staff
Unfortunately there are expected to be widespread job losses, with 12,800 positions immediately at risk, with a further 10,800 to be moved to lower costs environments - with India the favourite to benefit from this relocation of services.
While Barclays have managed to agree the deal in a relatively short space of time, after gaining exclusive access to the “books†of ABN Amro, there are still many hurdles to overcome including :-
· The need to acquire regulatory approval in 70 different countries
· A possible counter-offer for ABN Amro, with the UK’s Royal Bank of Scotland making noises about a possible offer
· A possible counter-offer for Barclays - with a number of US companies having been mooted in the past
If the deals goes through in its current form, Barclays shareholders will own 52% of the enlarged group, although the head office will be moved to the Netherlands.
The move to the Netherlands has prompted the UK unions to seek assurances from Barclays with regards to the future treatment of workers - as yet not forthcoming.
Even though a deal has been agreed, there are still many obstacles to overcome and this story seems set to run and run for some time yet.
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