Swedbank, a Swedish banking group, is set to take full ownership of Entercard by acquiring its joint venture partner Barclays’ stake of 50% in an all-cash deal worth SEK2.6bn ($273.2m).
Barclays holds the stake through its subsidiary Barclays Principal Investments.
Entercard, which was founded in 2005, provides consumer credit across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland.
As of 31 March 2025, it held total assets worth SEK36bn ($3.8bn), consisting mainly of card and loan receivables.
The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of this year, is subject to regulatory approvals. Following this, Barclays expects to release approximately £900m of risk-weighted assets (RWAs), thereby boosting its Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio by approximately 4 basis points.
Entercard will repay funding amounting to around £1.2bn currently provided by Barclays Bank upon completion.
Counted as one of the major entities in the Nordic credit market, Entercard offers card products and consumer loans through partnerships. It serves about 1.5 million customers with a workforce of approximately 450 employees.
Post-transaction, the company will continue operations under its current brand name.
Entercard CEO Jan Haglund said: “For 20 years, Entercard has been on a strong growth journey. Becoming a full part of Swedbank, the leading financial group in Sweden and the Baltics, creates new business opportunities to further strengthen our operations.”
Swedbank’s acquisition is based on 50% of Entercard’s equity at the time of purchase. This move is expected to impact Swedbank’s CET1 capital ratio negatively by about 30 basis points at completion and aligns with its strategic business plan.
With this acquisition of the remaining stake, Swedbank aims to consolidate its position within the Nordic credit market.
Swedbank deputy CEO Tomas Hedberg said: “Today we are forming the largest card business in the Nordics and Baltics.
“Through this acquisition, Swedbank continues to invest in and develop our business. This creates even greater opportunities to strengthen our customer offering.”
