Barclays has reached an agreement to sell its entire ownership stake in Stockholm-based fintech Entercard to joint venture partner Swedbank.
The all-cash transaction values Barclays’ shareholding at approximately £200 million (SEK 2.6 billion) as of 31 March 2025, representing half of Entercard’s net assets. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2025 and will release approximately £900 million in risk-weighted assets for Barclays.
Founded as a joint venture between Barclays and Swedbank in 2005, Entercard provides credit cards and consumer loans to 1.5 million customers across Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway. The company employs around 450 people and will continue to operate under its own brand as a wholly owned subsidiary of Swedbank following the deal.
Tomas Hedberg, Swedbank’s deputy CEO, states that with this acquisition, the bank is “forming the largest card business in the Nordics and Baltics”. The deal follows Swedbank’s recent acquisition of digital mortgage firm Stabelo for approximately £27 million (SEK 350 million) last month.
Earlier this year, Barclays sold the majority of its British payments business to Brookfield Asset Management, while last year it sold its German consumer finance business to Austria’s BAWAG.
Source: https://www.fintechfutures.com/
