Barclays to shut down Cyprus operations, serve clients from London

By Stelios Orphanides

Barclays bank said that it will terminate the operations of its subsidiary in Cyprus and continue to offer services to customers based on the island from London, where the majority of its clients maintained accounts.

The British bank “will simplify the business through the creation of Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate & International,” the bank said in an emailed statement on Thursday, citing comments made by its chief executive Jes Stanley on March 1. “As part of this strategic restructuring and simplification of the Barclays Group, it is reducing its presence in a number of locations, including in Cyprus”.

The bank plans to close both its offices both in Limassol and Nicosia.

“As part of a continuing drive for simplification and in line with Barclays strategy as outlined by our chief executive officer in March 2016, we have reviewed our local operating model for the business in Cyprus,” Neil Jenkin, director of Barclays Corporate and International said. “Our focus will be on supporting our colleagues impacted by these changes and ensuring we continue to offer a high level of service to our clients.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.