Businessweek

Barclays PLC operates as a financial services provider worldwide. The company engages in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management with an international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. It operates in approximately 50 countries. Business Groups The company’s activities are organized under various business groups, such as UK Retail and Business Banking (UKRBB); Europe Retail and Business Banking (Europe RBB); Africa Retail and Business Banking (Africa RBB); Barclaycard; Investment Bank; Corporate Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management. UKRBB UKRBB provides current account and savings products, and Woolwich branded mortgages. UKRBB also provides unsecured loans and general insurance, as well as banking and money transmission services to small and medium sized businesses. UKRBB has approximately 15 million personal customers, 1 million of whom are classified as mass-affluent and serves approximately 750,000 businesses. Europe RBB Europe RBB provides retail services, including credit cards in Spain, Italy, Portugal, and France, as well as business lending to small and medium sized enterprises, through various distribution channels. The company provides its services to approximately 1.5 million retail customers and businesses in Europe. Africa RBB Africa RBB provides retail, corporate, and credit card services across Africa and the Indian Ocean. Africa RBB provides a range of retail banking services and insurance products under the Absa and Barclays brands through various retail distribution channels and offers customized business solutions for commercial and corporate customers across Africa. The company serves approximately 14.3 million customers and clients across 12 countries. Barclaycard Barclaycard is an international payments services provider for consumer and business customers, including credit cards, consumer lending, merchant acquiring, commercial cards, and point of sale finance. The company serves 29 million retail and business customers worldwide, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, South Africa through Absa Card, and Norway, Sweden, and Denmark through the EnterCard joint venture. The company offers various new products to meet evolving customer needs, including Freedom and Cashback consumer cards in the U.K., Google Adwords for the U.K. small and medium enterprises, Barclaycard Plus for online consumer spending in Germany and the world’s first social media credit card, and Barclaycard Ring in the U.S. Investment Bank The Investment Bank division of the company provides corporate, government, and institutional clients with a spectrum of banking services. Services include arranging and underwriting debt and equity issuance, providing advice on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and restructurings, making active markets for securities across global debt and equity exchanges, and delivering strategic risk management solutions. The company’s clients include multi-national corporates, sovereign governments and supranational bodies and financial institutions, including banks, pension funds, and insurance firms. Corporate Banking Corporate Banking provides integrated banking solutions to corporates, financial institutions, and multinationals across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the U.S., as well as in the U.K. and South Africa. These services include debt, cash, and trade finance. The company serves approximately 40,000 corporations. In 2012, the company launched the new Cash Management offering, Pingit for Corporates, providing clients with ways to manage payments. Wealth and Investment Management Wealth and Investment Management provides a range of wealth management services to affluent and high net worth clients worldwide, including credit, investment management, and advisory services, as well as international and private banking, fiduciary services, and brokerage. Wealth and Investment Management focuses on private and intermediary clients. In 2012, the company launched a new digital client portal, which allows clients to self-serve when and how they