Barclays Plc wants to sell around €5 billion ($5.3billion) in Italian mortgage loans to exit retail banking.
People with knowledge of the situation said that the UK bank had begun the sale process for a large portfolio of loans to individuals. According to the sources, the package includes high-risk loans and non-performing mortgages in Swiss Francs. The people said that potential bidders had until the end this month to make non-binding proposals. They asked not to be named as the plans were private.
Italian loans are the last remaining part of its retail business. Barclays sold their consumer-banking operation in Italy to Mediobanca SpA back in 2015. A year later, it announced its intention to sell the remaining Italian loans in order to focus on corporate and investment banking.
The bank had planned to sell off non-core consumer businesses in continental Europe to focus on its most profitable businesses, namely in the UK and US.
Barclays spokesperson declined to comment
Barclays, based in London, has hired Boston Consulting Group for a review of its strategy to improve the share price. The level of risk-weighted asset in the investment banking as well as the best positioning for the wealth and retail business are some areas that can be examined.