Barclays has completed the acquisition of Best Egg, a leading US personal loan originator, the British bank confirmed in a press release on Friday, closing a transaction first announced in October last year.
The deal broadens Barclays' consumer credit franchise in the United States, adding a national online lender to a business that has historically been anchored by co-branded credit cards. Barclays agreed to pay $800 million for the business.
US CONSUMER PLATFORM EXPANDED
Best Egg, founded in 2013, is a direct-to-consumer personal loan platform that has provided more than $40 billion in personal loans and was expected to originate more than $7 billion in 2025.
The completion was announced on 1 May 2026; the deal had been subject to standard regulatory approvals and other conditions. Barclays said the acquisition adds a capital-efficient personal lending platform that complements the US Consumer Bank's partnership-driven credit card and deposit businesses.
Group chief executive C. S. Venkatakrishnan said: "The U.S. is a strategically important growth market for Barclays. The Best Egg acquisition strengthens our US Consumer Bank with a proven, capital-light personal lending platform." The US Consumer Bank is one of the five operating divisions set out in the strategic plan management presented in February 2024.
DEAL ANNOUNCED IN OCTOBER 2025
Barclays first agreed to buy Best Egg on 28 October 2025, for $800 million, with completion then expected in the second quarter of 2026.
Barclays had said completion would follow the previously announced sale of its American Airlines co-brand credit card receivables.
Best Egg will keep its brand and operate within Barclays US Consumer Bank.
Barclays has said the platform gives it significant flexibility in the efficient deployment of lending capacity and capital.
The closing of the deal on 1 May 2026 completes a process that began with the October 2025 announcement, and formally transfers control of Best Egg and its lending platform to Barclays.
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