Two million customers, 700 employees and a profit of around 100 million expected by the new owner: the local Bawag Group takes over the German activities of the large British bank Barclays. In an interview with ‘Krone’ Bawag CEO Anas Abuzaakouk reveals what was behind the purchase and what Bawag plans to do next.
“The attractive part of the acquisition is the credit card business,” said Anas Abuzaakouk, CEO of Bawag, shortly after the announcement of the long-prepared banking deal. “It perfectly complements our strategy in Austria.” And that is to expand our presence in the DACH region. They are satisfied with the company’s performance to date and clearly want to grow further.
The regulations in particular would now require work and time; all approvals should be obtained early next year. They expect a contribution to pre-tax profit of more than 100 million euros in 2027.
A purchase price was not mentioned. According to earlier information, Barclays hoped to raise around half a billion euros with the sale. According to BAWAG CFO Enver Sirucic, there is no clear price for the takeover at the moment. “We are taking over all liabilities and all assets,” Sirucic said.
Since its IPO in 2017, Bawag has completed nine acquisitions, while Barclays and Knab (February 2024) have signed two more. According to CEO Abuzaakouk, the shopping spree is over for now. “You always think the acquisition is the hardest part – but the hard part starts afterwards, with the integration.”
According to the publication at the end of March 2024, Barclays Consumer Bank Europe’s assets amounted to around 4.7 billion euros and consisted mainly of card and credit receivables. The Hamburg-based division of the major British bank has been active in Germany since 1991.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
