Joint Venture

Barclays PLC
12 October 2000

                                      
    Barclays PLC and Nomura International PLC announce joint venture for
                Barclaycard-branded internet shopping portal

Barclays, the UK's leading internet bank and Nomura, the Japanese investment
bank, today announced that they have entered into a joint venture to launch
a Barclaycard-branded internet shopping portal for consumers, supported by
£30 million of funding.

The new portal is designed to provide the most comprehensive shopping
facility online. By the end of next year, Barclaycard has a target of
500,000 users of the service, which aims to have more than 350 retailers
supplying over 5 million products.  Online shopping is expected to reach
£12.5 billion in value by 2005*.

At the proposed launch date later this year, the service will initially
offer in excess of 1 million products from over 50 suppliers, ranging from
gifts, computers and travel to health and beauty, music and clothing.  An
advanced multi-variable search facility will allow customers to search for
goods and services and identify best value and prices by browsing across
different products, brands, categories, retailers and manufacturers.  All
retailers will have to meet exacting minimum standards relating to their
internet trading. The initial target audience for the service is all
consumers in the United Kingdom although it will be available in Europe.

Bob Potts, Chief Executive of Barclaycard said: 'Nomura's investment is
testimony to Barclays position as one of the world's leading e-commerce
financial services companies and an endorsement of Barclaycard's status as a
premier online payments brand.  This is one of a series of new initiatives
from Barclaycard, which will use our brand, customer base and e-commerce
expertise to create new income opportunities. Building our credentials as a
major player in internet-related commerce will be a significant factor in
the growth of Barclaycard over the next 5 to 10 years.'

Senia Rapisarda, Head of Principal Investments in Nomura's Communications &
Technology Group, commented, 'We are delighted to be partnering Barclaycard
in this important part of its e-commerce strategy. Our experience of
investing in online companies enables us to provide the latest thinking on
best practice and leading edge technology. We believe that Barclaycard's
large customer base and the trust and reassurance associated with
Barclaycard's strong brand will allow the portal to capture a substantial
share of the online shopping market.'

Barclays is the UK's largest internet bank and the fifth largest globally,
with over 1.35 million online customers.  Barclaycard is Europe's leading
internet card company, with more than 300,000 personal customers using its
online account services.  Through its merchant services business Barclaycard
provides ePDQ for real-time online card transaction processing and en@ble to
allow retailers to begin trading on the internet within 24hours.

* The 'Verdict on Electronic Shopping' report, Verdict, June 2000.


Notes to Editors:

Barclaycard

Barclaycard is Europe's largest provider of card services, with over 11
million cards held by more than eight million customers.  It was the first
credit card company on the internet in the UK, and now has in excess of
300,000 customers using its online account services.  Barclaycard has a 25%
share of the UK credit card market, in which 43% of the adult population has
a credit card.

Nomura International plc

Nomura International PLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Nomura
Securities Co Ltd., one of the world's largest investment banks with
shareholders' equity of US$13.4 billion and current quarterly pre-tax profit
of US$1.4 billion (Q1 2000/2001).  The Communications & Technology Group is
one of Nomura's sector-focused, full-service Global Investment Banking
operations. With a strong track record of successful principal investment,
it has invested over US$250 million in companies such as ARC International
(IPO on LSE 21/9/00 --ARK.L), Dealtime (comparative shopping tool) and
EnCommerce (acquired by Entrust - ENTU.O) and Sportal (pan-European sports
platform).

For further information:

Nic Gault                          Chris Tucker
Head of External Communications    Group PR Director
Barclaycard: 01604 251229          Barclays PLC: 0207 699 3161

Ian Roundell                       Clare Williams
Head of Investor Relations         Head of Corporate Comms
Barclays PLC: 0207 699 2961        Nomura: 0207 521 1079