Two sources told Reuters that Barclays is considering a sale of its retail banking business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The sources declined to be identified as the matter was not yet public. They also revealed that the British bank is now in the midst of strategically reviewing its operations in the Gulf State. Since taking the helm at Barclays in August last year, Chief Executive Anthony Jenkins had been closing some of the bank's businesses to curb its exposure to risk.

Of the fifty-one commercial banks doing business in the UAE, twenty-three are local lenders while twenty-eight are foreign banks. Reuters reported that cash-rich local lenders were proving to be serious competition for foreign banks doing business in the UAE. Local lenders also have the advantage because they are not subject to the same capital issues as Western banks. Not only could the locals offer clients more sophisticated services, they compete with international banks when it comes to hiring the best people, Reuters added.