Barclays PLC’s $800 Million Best Egg Deal Lands as Credit Risk Clouds U.S. Lending Push
Barclays PLC has closed the deal to buy Best Egg, folding the U.S. online personal-loan outfit into Barclays Bank Delaware as it extends its reach in American consumer finance. The Best Egg name isn’t going anywhere, according to Barclays. CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan described the U.S. as “a strategically important growth market” for the bank. Timing is crucial here: Barclays wants more scale and reliable fee streams in the U.S., fresh off its card business overhaul. UK rivals HSBC and NatWest have gone after deals for similar reasons, chasing bigger footprints. With Best Egg, Barclays picks up loan origination and servicing fees—counted as “capital-light” by bankers, since these don’t force the bank to park every loan on its own books.