Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer today granted Barclays Bank plc (LSE: BARC) a foreign bank license to open a branch in Israel. The license is a necessary condition for the bank to become a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) member, which it applied for on Thursday.
Barclays will become the fifth foreign bank with a branch in Israel, following Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), HSBC Holding plc (LSE: HSBA; HKSE: 005; NYSE, Paris: HBC), BNP Paribas SA (Euronext: BNP), and the State Bank of India.
Barclays has had a representative office in Israel since 2008, and the license will enable to expand it local operations.
TASE members are banks or investment houses that mediate between the TASE and potential investors. Private investors cannot directly participate in TASE activity. There are currently 27 TASE members - 14 banks and 13 investment houses - including Citigroup and HSBC.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 15, 2011
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