Barclays 'leaving commercial mortgages industry'

24 February 2011

Written by Simon Whittaker

Barclays is to stop lending commercial mortgages, it has been reported, putting the arm of its operations dedicated to business loans up for sale.

It has been suggested that the company has already rejected one bid for the unit, Barclays Capital Mortgage Servicing (BCMS).

A Fitch Ratings report in November showed the portfolio, which was formed in 2004, was worth £6.8 million, around 80 per cent of which is accounted for by commercial mortgage-backed securities and the rest by European assets.

The bank is said to be considering several offers for the unit, having last month closed its advisory service Barclays Financial Planning.

Property loan outsourcing firm HML's director of marketing Julian Wells explained why he thinks the move is being made.

"Mortgage admin is a specialist activity and, in the current climate, some businesses are concentrating on their core competencies," he said.

However, Barclays Capital did not comment on the rumours.

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