Swedbank announced Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Barclays’ 50 per cent stake in Entercard, making the Nordic credit company a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swedish lender.
Swedbank Acquires Barclays’ Entercard Stake
Entercard, which provides card products and consumer loans through partnerships in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, has been co-owned by Swedbank and Barclays since 2005. It employs around 450 staff and serves 1.5 million customers.
“Today we are forming the largest card business in the Nordics and Baltics,” said Tomas Hedberg, Deputy Chief Executive of Swedbank. “Through this acquisition, Swedbank continues to invest in and develop our business. This creates even greater opportunities to strengthen our customer offering.”
The purchase price corresponds to 50 per cent of Entercard’s equity at the time of the transaction. In the first quarter of 2025, Entercard’s total equity was about SEK 5.2 billion.
Entercard will retain its brand identity following the acquisition. Chief Executive Jan Haglund welcomed the move, stating: “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.”
The acquisition is expected to reduce Swedbank’s Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio by around 30 basis points upon completion. The bank described this as consistent with its 15/27 business plan.
