Barclays scaling back asset-based lending to smaller borrowers - report.

Barclays is reportedly scaling back its asset-based lending to smaller borrowers after the collapses of Market Financial Solutions and Tricolor Holdings left the firm facing losses.

Barclays
25 March 2026 16:04:07

Source: Sharecast

According to Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter, the bank is shifting its focus to loans and securitizations for larger corporates. It has already pulled back from a number of deals and increased pricing to reflect higher perceived risks.

Barclays reported it had £160.6bn of exposure to securitized assets as an originator or sponsor of such deals at the end of 2025, a slight decrease from the year prior, according to a financial filing. That includes loans to corporates and residential mortgages, among other assets.

Barclays is owed about £500m by MFS, though chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan has said any impairment would be "materially lower" than that figure.

A source told Bloomberg that Barclays could reverse course in the future if the risk profile changes.

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