Proposed acquisition

Barclays PLC
20 January 2005



                                                                 20 January 2005
                                        
                BARCLAYS INTENDS TO ACQUIRE THE WEALTH BUSINESSES
                        OF ING SECURITIES BANK (FRANCE)

Barclays Bank PLC ('Barclays') announces that it has made an offer to acquire
the wealth business of ING Securities Bank (France), consisting of ING Ferri and
ING Private Banking, subject to consultation with employee representative bodies
and finalising terms. The acquisition would combine two complementary affluent
banking businesses in France and create an operation with over 50 branches,
140,000 clients and €10bn of assets under management.

Subject to consultation, the acquisition would be expected to complete at the
end of the second quarter of this year. Pascal Roche, Managing Director of
Barclays France, would become Managing Director of the combined business, which
would remain part of Barclays International Retail and Commercial Banking
business.

Commenting on the proposed acquisition, David Roberts, Chief Executive, Barclays
International Retail and Commercial Banking said: 'France is one of the most
attractive wealth markets in Europe with four million affluent individuals and
forecast growth in investible assets of over seven per cent per annum. This
acquisition complements our existing operations and would create a larger and
more diverse business for Barclays in France, increasing its customer base by a
quarter, and providing a platform to accelerate growth. It would also further
the Barclays Group's stated aim to grow the proportion of our income from
outside the UK.'

                                     (ends)

For further information, please contact:

At Barclays UK:                            At Barclays France:
Pam Horrell/Chris Tucker                   Adam Lister
Group Public Relations, Barclays           Barclays France
Tel: ++ 44 [phone]/3161             Tel: ++ 33 (1) 55 78 70 75

                                                                       

Barclays PLC

Barclays is an international financial services group engaged primarily in
banking, investment banking and investment management. Barclays has been
involved in banking for over 300 years and operates in over 60 countries, with
76,200 employees and 2,916 branches worldwide. Barclays has six major business
groupings. For more information about Barclays PLC, please visit
www.barclays.com

Barclays France

Barclays has operated in France since 1917, and currently has €7.3bn of assets
under management, 110,000 clients and 40 branches. Barclays provides a
comprehensive banking service to affluent customers and is recognised in France
as a leading affluent banking brand and product innovator.

ING Group

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking,
insurance and asset management to over 60 million private, corporate and 
institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of 
approximately 112,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent 
companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand. For more 
information about ING Group, please visit www.inggroup.com

ING Ferri and ING Private Banking France

ING Ferri is the brand name of personal banking activities oriented to affluent
customers and based on stockbrokerage and wealth management expertise. ING
Private Banking business is providing dedicated private banking services to
upper affluent clients.
Combined, ING Ferri and ING Private Banking businesses have assets under
management of €2.7bn, 30,000 clients and 13 branches.




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