Barclays taps into US credit cards with $293m buy

UK giant Barclay Bank has bought the US credit card issuer Juniper Financial. The US company is one of the fastest growing and although it is only the 20th largest credit card issuer in the US, Barclays reckon Juniper should contribute about $150m of pre-tax profits within three years.

Up to £100m has been earmarked for investment in the new company over the next two years.

Barclaycard chief executive Gary Hoffman said: "Over the past four years, Jupiter has been one of the fastest growing credit card issuers in North America. We believe the acquisition will provide us with a low-risk entry into the largest credit card market in the world, a platform for growth and one of the strongest management teams in the business."