Barclays Offshore Bank Expands into Qatar

Barclays Bank are increasing the stakes as they work hard globally to become recognized as one of the world’s leading banking institutions and to that end Barclays offshore bank expands into Qatar.

Barclays Bank PLC was granted a banking license by the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) last week after being one of the first financial institutions to apply to the QFC for acceptance which emphasizes the bank’s commitment to their expansion plans in the Middle East.

Barclays offshore already has a strong presence in the United Arab Emirates having operated across the Middle East from their UAE base for thirty years; now the application for permission to operate from Qatar is being recognized as a strong and strategic step forward for the bank which has plans to become one of the most significant banking institutions in the world alongside the likes of HSBC Offshore.

The granting of the license is just Barclays Bank PLC’s first step into Qatar, the license allows their investment banking division Barclays Capital the right to operate and now the banking giants have also applied for permission for their commercial, retail and wealth divisions to be allowed to operate from the Qatar Financial Centre and permission is expected to be given within weeks.

Barclays have chosen Qatar specifically as their next geographic location for expansion because the nation now has the highest per capita GDP in the entire Middle East and among the highest per capita GDP in the world and Barclays views Qatar as a growing market providing them with unparalleled potential for regional expansion.

Qatar and the Qatar Financial Centre are happy to welcome prestigious and respected institutions such as Barclays as they will hopefully lead the field and result in other world respected institutions joining them and bringing to fruition the Qatari authorities’ plans for economic transformation for the long term sustainability of the nation’s economic position.