Barclays Bank PLC has purchased MBNA Europe Bank Limited's Small Business credit card portfolio in the UK, consisting of approximately 60,000 accounts with approximately £130 million of outstanding balances as at 28 February 2011.

This acquisition reinforces Barclays Global Retail Banking's strategic ambition to achieve greater depth in its chosen markets and businesses. The portfolio will be integrated into its payment division, Barclaycard. Last year, Barclaycard managed circa £200 billion in payments for over 20 million consumers and over 240,000 business customers.

Valerie Soranno Keating, Chief Executive of Barclaycard, said: "We are delighted to welcome 60,000 new customers who will benefit from Barclaycard's deep understanding of commercial payments, built up over the last 34 years. Following on from our recently announced intention to purchase the Egg credit card assets, this deal further reflects the growing diversification of our payments business and is priced at a small discount to outstanding balances."