BARCLAYS has celebrated two decades of operating in Northern Ireland by hosting a special celebration event in the Merchant Hotel for more than 200 clients and staff.
It was one of the first of the British mainland banks to set up shop here in 1996 and offer a direct alternative to the north's traditional 'big four' of Ulster Bank, Northern Bank (now Danske), Bank of Ireland and First Trust (which had only been set up five years earlier when TSB and AIB merged).
Since then a number of other banks have dipped their toes in the Northern Ireland market, but Barclays are seen as the trailblazers.
Adrian Doran, Barclays’ head of corporate banking in Northern Ireland, said: “We have been supporting businesses here for over 20 years and have steadily expanded our activities and customer base since those early days.
“We have a long history of banking many of Northern Ireland’s largest companies, but the fastest growing part of our operation today is our SME business, particularly since the launch of our £100m SME fund earlier this year.
"Our business has grown this year by more than 20 per cent and and we are investing to ensure our continued growth in Northern Ireland. We now have relationship directors covering every size of business from start-ups to Plcs.”
Kevin Wall, chairman of Barclays Corporate Bank, who attended the celebrations, added: “We are delighted with the growth in our business in Northern Ireland over the past 20 years and look forward to helping more local businesses succeed in the future.”
