Re Joint Venture

Barclays PLC
30 June 2005


30th June 2005

                  BARCLAYS AND FORENINGSSPARBANKEN CREDIT CARD
                            OPERATION BEGINS TRADING

EnterCard, the new joint venture between Barclays PLC (Barclays) and
ForeningsSparbanken (FSB, known as Swedbank), which was announced on 4th
February 2005, began operations today.

EnterCard is headquartered in Stockholm and has 600,000 customers and
approximately £280 million in credit card receivables across Sweden and Norway.
EnterCard will offer FSB's retail banking customers competitive new card
products and will also target other market opportunities across the Nordic
region.

This is the latest step in Barclays strategy to grow its global credit card
businesses with the intention that, within ten years, the international credit
card business of Barclaycard should be as meaningful a contributor to the
Barclays group as Barclaycard UK. The move follows the acquisition of Juniper
Financial Corporation in the USA in December 2004.

'This is an exciting market and we believe we have a winning combination with
FSB's customer and distribution strengths in Scandinavia and Barclaycard's
leading-edge risk management and customer acquisition skills' commented
Barclaycard Chief Executive, Gary Hoffman.

- ends -

Contact at Barclays:

Peter Stanhope
Public Relations, Barclaycard
Tel: ++ 44 (0) 1604 25 1229

James S. Johnson
Investor Relations, Barclays
Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

About Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and
commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and
investment management services. Operating in over 60 countries and employing
over 78,000 people we move, lend, invest and protect money for over 18 million
customers and clients worldwide. With over 300 years of history and expertise in
banking, Barclays PLC has six major divisions. UK Banking, delivers banking
products and services to over 14 million personal customers and 745,000
businesses in the UK. Barclaycard is a multi-brand credit card and consumer
lending business with an increasing international presence and is one of the
leading credit card businesses in Europe. Barclays Capital, the investment
banking division, provides corporate, institutional and government clients with
solutions to their financing and risk management needs. Barclays Global
Investors is one of the world's largest asset managers and a leading provider of
investment management products and services. Private Clients, Barclays wealth
management operation has over 300,000 affluent and high net worth clients.
International Retail and Commercial Banking, the global retail and commercial
banking operation, with 2.2 million international clients, has operations in
countries which currently include the Caribbean, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy
and Africa. For more information about Barclays PLC, please visit
www.barclays.com

About ForeningsSparbanken

ForeningsSparbanken (Swedbank) is a leading Nordic-Baltic banking group with 8.4
million retail customers and 396,000 corporate customers in Sweden, Estonia,
Lithuania and Latvia. Together with co-operating independent savings banks and
partly owned banks the group has more than 750 branches in Sweden. In the Baltic
countries the group has another 250 branches. Outside of the Nordic-Baltic home
markets, the group is present in Copenhagen, Kaliningrad, London, Moscow, New
York, Oslo, Shanghai, St.Petersburg and Tokyo. As of December 2004, the group
had total assets of SEK 1,020 billion and approximately 15,000 employees. For
more information about ForeningsSparbanken, please visit http://www.swedbank.com

This document is presented by Barclays PLC and its subsidiary undertakings
(together 'the Group'). It contains certain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with
respect to certain of the Group's plans and its current goals and expectations
relating to its future financial condition and performance, in particular with
respect to Barclaycard and its expansion strategy. These forward-looking
statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to
historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such
as 'anticipate', 'target', 'expect', 'estimate', 'intend', 'plan', 'goal',
'believe', or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, forward-looking
statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and
circumstances, including UK domestic and global economic and business
conditions, market related risks such as interest rate and exchange rate risks,
the policies and action of governmental and regulatory authorities, changes in
legislation and the impact of competition, a number of which are beyond the
Group's control. As a result, the Group's actual future results may differ
materially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in the Group's
forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf
of Barclays speak only as of the date they are made. Barclays does not undertake
to up-date forward-looking statements to reflect any changes in Barclay's
expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based. The reader should, however,
consult any additional disclosures that Barclays has made or may make in
documents it has filed or may file with the US Securities and Exchange
commission including its most recent Annual Report on
Form 20-F.





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