Swedbank is to acquire Barclays’ ownership stake in Nordic card company Entercard for $275 million
Entercard is one of the leading credit market companies in the Nordics, offering card products and consumer loans with partnerships in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.
Tomas Hedberg, deputy CEO of Swedbank, says: "Today we are forming the largest card business in the Nordics and Baltics. Through this acquisition, Swedbank continues to invest in and develop our business. This creates even greater opportunities to strengthen our customer offering.”
Swedbank and Barclays have co-owned Entercard since 2005. The firm currently has has SEK 36 billion of assets, approximately 450 employees and 1.5 million customers, and will continue to operate under its own brand.
Jan Haglund, CEO of Entercard, comments: “For 20 years, Entercard has been on a strong growth journey. Becoming a full part of Swedbank, the leading financial group in Sweden and the Baltics, creates new business opportunities to further strengthen our operations.” says .
The $275 million purchase price is based on the amount corresponding to 50 per cent of Entercard’s equity at the time of acquisition.
The divestiture is part of a broader capital light strategy for Barclays and mirrors the earlier disposal of its payments business to Brookfield Asset Management.
The transaction is expected to lift Barclays' Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio by four basis points.
The deal will negatively impact Swedbank's CET1 ratio by approximately 30 basis points, and is a natural consequence of Swedbank’s 15/27 business plan which prioritises digital transformation in the Nordics and Baltics.