In August 2017 Barclays announced that it was to expand its Irish operations as part of its post-Brexit EU banking plans, having described Ireland as a 'natural base' for its EU hub. Barclays is a major global financial services provider of retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia, and employs some 145,000 people.
The origin of Barclays Bank dates back to 1690, when two goldsmith bankers, John Freame and Thomas Gould, began conducting their business on London’s Lombard Street. Their connections to the Quaker community contributed to the flourishing of the business, which involved financing Quaker traders in the Americas. They also held the central funds of the Quaker community’s Society of Friends. The name of the bank is derived from James Barclay, who joined as a partner in 1736. He was married to Freame’s daughter.
It was difficult to separate the strong principles of the Quaker community from politics, leading to a number of instances in which the Freame and Barclay families were at the centre of political battles. John Freame campaigned tirelessly for the rights of Quakers, ultimately achieving the right to make an affirmation, rather than swear an oath that would violate their religious beliefs. David Barclay the younger, who became a partner in 1776, attempted to persuade the Quaker community to take a stronger position against slavery. In settlement of a debt, he was given ownership over slaves in Jamaica, whom he freed at great financial cost.
The bank expanded significantly in 1896, when several banks in England united under the name Barclays and Co. Barclays then continued making acquisitions of small English banks, before increasing its overseas operations in the 1920s and 1930s. Further expansion occurred in 1980 with the taking over of the American Credit Corporation, the first involvement of Barclays in the commercial credit industry. In 1987 Barclays introduced the first debit card in the United Kingdom. In 2008, Barclays announced the agreement to purchase the Lehman Brothers’ investment banking and trading divisions.
Barclays provides large local companies and multinationals, government and institutional clients in Ireland with ‘a full spectrum of solutions to their strategic advisory, financing, lending, and cash, liquidity and risk management needs’.
Barclays has had a presence in Ireland since the 1980s through Dublin and Belfast offices and on 1st July 2005, the business in the Republic of Ireland was incorporated as the separate legal entity, Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, authorised as a Credit Institution by the Central Bank of Ireland.
The Dublin-based bank, know as Barclays Europe, is the regional head office of Barclays' pan-European Union Corporate and Investment Bank with c.300 Ireland-based employees and c.1,800 employees across 9 branches in the EEA, including its substantial existing presences in Paris, Frankfurt and Milan. Barclays Europe supports European clients, offering services including Corporate Banking, Investment Banking, Markets, Private Banking, and Consumer Finance. Barclays also houses private banking activities and EU payments operations in its expanded Dublin bank.
In Ireland, Barclays also provides corporate banking services to over 800 clients, including top-tier Irish corporations, multinationals and financial institutions.
