Barclays said that the proposal to move away from offering financial planning advice through Barclays UK Retail Banking follows a decline in commercial viability for such services over recent years, and the expectation that this decline will continue.
As a result of this, Barclays has entered into consultation with employees who support Barclays Financial Planning (BFP), the division of Barclays that offers face-to-face financial planning services to retail customers.
Barclays recently launched "Investor Zone", an online investment service. The company said that it will focus future strategic investment on a series of enhancements to this service over the coming months and beyond.
Barclays also said that while financial planning advice may no longer be provided by UK Retail Banking, all existing plans and investments held by customers to date will continue to be serviced by the company.
