Barclays buys Italian mortgage business

LONDON: Britain's Barclays bank said on Thursday it has bought the Italian residential mortgage business of Australia's Macquarie bank.

Barclays PLC, which raised 7.3 billion pounds ($11.8 billion) from Middle Eastern investors last month, is not disclosing the amount it paid Macquarie Group Limited for the business. The purchase increases the value of Barclays mortgage book by 1.1 billion euros ($1.4 billion) or nearly 10 percent. Before this deal, Barclays mortgage book was worth roughly 12 billion euros ($15 billion).

``Our existing Italian mortgage business has grown through the combination of a prudent lending policy and careful management of customer relationships,'' said Frits Seegers, chief executive of Barclays retail and commercial banking arm. ``This acquisition augments that business.'' Barclays shares fell 4 percent to 187 pence ($2.98).