Barclays to shut 3 India branches

At a time when most foreign banks in India are looking at opening more branches, British lender Barclays has decided to close three of its nine branches in the country.

The move comes after its decision to exit the retail banking business in India, say banking sources.

The foreign bank will shut its branches in Rajahmundry  in Andhra Pradesh, Ahmednagar in Maharashtra and Junagarh in Gujarat.

The bank will retain the remaining six branches in India to carry out corporate banking operations. A spokesperson of Barclays India has confirmed the development.

Earlier, Barclays Finance, the non-banking finance arm of Barclays in India,

had closed majority of its branches in the country as it was no longer offering retail loans to customers.

Barclays, which sold its India credit cards business to Standard Chartered Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank in December 2011, is currently negotiating with bidders to sell its Rs 3,200-crore retail assets business in Kolkata.

However, sources indicate the bank is yet to receive the "right price" for these assets.

In India, the bank plans to focus on more profitable businesses such as wealth management and investment banking.