Barclays in talks to buy Citi's assets in Portugal: report

Global banking major Barclays is in talks to acquire some of Citigroup's retail-banking assets, including credit-card portfolio, in Portugal in a move to strengthen its presence in southern Europe, says a media report.

Attributing to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal said that Barclays Plc is in talks to buy some of Citigroup Inc's retail-banking assets in Portugal, including the American bank's credit-card portfolio there.

It was unclear how much the assets would sell for, but citing people familiar with the plans, the report said they would be less than $100 million.

The deal, which could be announced as early as next week, would increase Barclays's retail presence in southern Europe, it noted.

Barclaycard, the bank's credit-card business, has suffered fewer impairment charges than many of its peers since the onset of the financial crisis, the daily noted.

The move comes at a time when Barclays Capital, Barclays's investment bank have been expanding in the US, Europe and Asia.

According to the publication, the sale could auger more disposals by Citigroup as it exits pieces of its European businesses. In a recent presentation, Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit classified the bank's Western Europe retail banking and cards portfolios as non-core assets.