LONDON, U.K.: Barclays has agreed to acquire U.S. personal loan originator Best Egg for US$800 million, marking its latest move to expand in the American retail banking market.

The deal strengthens Barclays' push into U.S. consumer finance, an area where it trails larger domestic rivals. Best Egg operates an online lending platform that has originated over $40 billion in personal loans to more than two million customers since its 2013 launch.

Barclays said the acquisition will diversify its income, adding more capital-light servicing fees alongside interest and interchange revenues. Best Egg currently services about $11 billion in outstanding loans, funded through securitization and backed by alternative asset managers, a model Barclays said it will maintain.

"The deep and sophisticated U.S. consumer finance market offers rich prospects for growth at Barclays," said CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan.

The purchase continues a wave of British banking acquisitions following strong earnings across the sector. Recent deals include HSBC's move to buy out Hang Seng Bank, NatWest's acquisition of Sainsbury's Bank, and Nationwide's takeover of Virgin Money.

For Barclays, the Best Egg deal adds digital lending capabilities and scale at a time when the bank is focused on broadening its retail footprint beyond the U.K. and U.S. credit card operations. The lender recently announced a £500 million share buyback and raised its profitability outlook after stronger-than-expected income and cost cuts.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, following the completion of Barclays' previously announced sale of its American Airlines co-branded credit card receivables.