DHAKA: Barclays has agreed to sell its retail banking arm in the United Arab Emirates to Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB).

ADIB is paying £107m ($177m) for the business which has 110,000 customers. Most of those are expatriate workers.

Customers who move to ADIB will have to switch to finance schemes that are complaint with Islamic rules, which do not allow interest payments.

Barclays says the deal will allow it to focus on its corporate and investment banking operations in the region.
Strategic review

In February, Barclays Chief Executive Antony Jenkins announced the result of a strategic review, which looked at the company`s 75 business units.

As a result Barclays has been focusing on markets where it believes it has scale and a competitive advantage.

In particular, the bank is concentrating its investment on the UK, US and Africa.

The review also resulted in thousands of job cuts.

ADIB is the biggest bank in UAE with 600,000 customers. Last year profits rose 21% to £238m, reports the BBC.

BDST: 0900 HRS, APR 07, 2014