Barclays targets India’s top 1% wealth makers

By Sohail Khan 28 August 2026, 7:28 am

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Business News›Industry›Banking/Finance›Banking›Barclays targets India’s billionaires as private banking competition intensifies

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Barclays targets India’s billionaires as private banking competition intensifies
Synopsis

Barclays is targeting India’s wealthiest founders and business owners as it seeks to expand its private banking business amid intensifying competition. The lender is leveraging its international network and capital-markets expertise to serve ultra-rich Indians with global assets, aiming for double-digit growth and deeper relationships with the country’s top promoters.

Representative image (11) — Barclays is stepping up its push into India’s private banking market, targeting billionaire founders and the country’s wealthiest clients with global wealth and capital-markets services.

Barclays Plc is seeking deeper ties with India’s billionaire founders as it looks to expand in the country’s fast-growing and highly competitive private banking market, where global rivals are also stepping up.

With wealth hubs across London, Dubai, Singapore and Europe, Barclays is betting on its international network and capital-markets capabilities to cater to ultra-rich Indians with businesses and assets across multiple jurisdictions, according to Annabelle Bryde, head of the firm’s Private Bank International. “That, for us, is a high-priority area,” she said in an interview.

Also read: Barclays may restart ECM business in India soon

The lender, having worked with India’s rich since 2008, is focusing on the top 1% of the country’s wealthy, and aiming for double-digit business growth over the next few years, London-based Bryde said.

The strategy pits Barclays against established international private banks of Standard Chartered Plc and HSBC Holdings Plc, which have built sizeable franchises serving India’s wealthy, as well as firms founded by senior bankers. Competition for talent is also pushing pay for relationship managers to record highs.

The move by Barclays comes as the number of ultra-rich in India is growing exponentially. The country had about 207 billionaires in 2025, the third-highest tally after the U.S. and China, according to Knight Frank’s Wealth Report. That number is projected to rise to 313 by 2031. The South Asian nation also had about 19,877 ultra-high-net-worth individuals with more than $30 million in wealth.

“I want to see more investments, growth across all the categories we work in, and increased penetration with India’s top promoters,” Bryde said. Barclays’ wealth business in India ranked 10th by size, with $23.8 billion in assets under management as of the end of 2025, up 7.3% from a year earlier, according to Asian Private Banker rankings. Its closest global peers in the country include Julius Baer Group Ltd. and Standard Chartered.

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