Barclays to Expand in Saudi Arabia Amid Middle East Push

By Elena Vardon

Barclays plans to re-enter Saudi Arabia, opening an office in Riyadh next year as part of plans to expand its presence in the Middle East.

The U.K. bank said Monday that it received a provisional license from the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority which will allow it to conduct investment banking and global market activities in the country once it is fully active.

"As a global bank with strong historical connections in the region, we are well-positioned to help clients access capital, transform and grow in this dynamic market," Chief Executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan said. Barclays has longstanding roots in the region but exited Saudi Arabia in 2014 as part of a strategy to shrink its investment banking operations and exit non-core markets under former CEO Antony Jenkins.

The London-listed group appointed Mohammed Al-Sarhan as independent nonexecutive chair for the franchise in the country. Barclays's Middle East operations are lead by Dubai-based co-CEOs Khaled El Dabag and Walid Mezher.

Barclays's operations will be run out of premises in the King Abdullah financial district, it said.

The bank is following in the footsteps of U.S. peers who are also bulking up in the oil-rich region, which is seeking to diversify its economy and giving international firms incentives to set up physical offices there. Barclays received a regional headquarters license earlier this year. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and BlackRock also recently secured this license.

Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 27, 2025 08:03 ET (12:03 GMT)