Barclays - Global Financial Services

Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services.

We are one of the largest financial services companies in the world by market capitalisation. Operating in over 60 countries and employing over 118,000 people, we move, lend, invest and protect money for over 25 million customers and clients worldwide. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays PLC has six major businesses.

UK Banking delivers banking products and services to over 14 million retail customers and 788,000 businesses in the UK (641,000 local businesses and 147,000 larger and medium businesses).

GLOBAL RETAIL AND COMMERCIAL BANKING

Barclays global retail and commercial banking operation, has over 2 million international clients, in geographies which currently include France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, India, Africa and the Middle East. In July 2005, Absa became a subsidiary of Barclays Bank Plc, and is now rapidly expanding its network and capabilities into Africa.

The Absa Group is one of South Africa’s largest financial services organisations, boasting the largest retail bank presence in the country. Absa focuses on targeted client segments and specialist product units, offering a wide array of banking products, ranging from basic entry-level products and services aimed at the low-income personal market to highly specialised solutions for the corporate and institutional market. Absa has an additional 8 million retail customers in South Africa.

Barclaycard is one of the leading credit card businesses in Europe, and has 11.2 million UK customers and 5.3 million international cards in issue.

INVESTMENT BANKING AND ASSET MANAGEMENT

Barclays Capital, the investment banking division, provides corporate, institutional and government clients with solutions to their financing and risk management needs.

Barclays Global Investors is one of the world’s largest asset managers and a leading provider of investment management products and services. The total assets under management at June 30, 2006 were $1.6 trillion.

Barclays Wealth serves affluent, high net worth and intermediary clients worldwide, providing private banking, asset management, stockbroking, offshore banking, wealth structuring and financial planning services. At June 30, 2006, total client assets were £85 billion.