UK bank poised to pull plug on Somali remittances

A British bank is severing a financial lifeline for millions of Somalis.

Barclays is poised to sever its ties to Dahabshiil, one of the Somali expatriate community's biggest money-transfer services, as part of a wide-ranging reorganisation of its business.

Experts say the move will jeopardize some 100 million pounds in payments made from the UK each year.

Barclays plans to go ahead with the move unless a last-minute court challenge by Dahabshiil succeeds today.

In a poverty-stricken country which relies heavily on remittances, Barclays' move has prompted significant anxiety.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said yesterday that his government was watching what was happening in London "with great concern.