Barclays Capital has reportedly decided to spin off its private equity arm by October 2010, in the wake of increasing pressure to minimize exposure to high risk activities such as private equity, hedge funds and derivatives trading, as a result of the worldwide financial crisis.
The move was reportedly finalized at Barclays Private Equity’s (Barclays PE) annual meeting earlier this month.
Barclays PE, which might not receive any investment from its parent company, is expected to begin operation possibly with an entirely new name.
Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of Barclays, is expected to award Barclays PE contract to manage its historic portfolios where the bank was the main investor.
Barclays Capital also expected to raise an independent fund of up to GBP1.8bn in the near future.