BARCLAYS is shopping around for a large US retail bank as it looks to boost its presence on the high street, it is claimed.
Newspaper reports suggest the bank wants to balance its deposit-taking business against a booming investment banking franchise.
Anthony Jenkins, the new head of Barclays’ retail operations, is thought to be putting together a paper to go before the board in the next two or three months.
The bank, which posted a 92% rise in pre-tax profits in 2009 to £11.6bn, has seen the benefits of its high profile deal to buy the North American operations of Lehman Brothers.
