Barclays has surfaced as a potential buyer of TD Direct Investing, a retail stockbroking business based in the UK, according to reports.
If the acquisition goes ahead, it is thought Barclays will use this acquisition to take on market leader Hargreaves Lansdown, by merging the platforms clients onto Barclays’ stockbroker arm, which currently manages around £15 billion in assets.
TD Direct Investing is an online platform, based in Leeds, that sells funds and shares via its website and through post to retail investors in the UK.
With an operation in Luxembourg, TD Direct has prompted unease inside Barclays as the financial institution suffered several fines from regulators related to dealings with offshore clients, according to Sky News.
Barclays has today agreed to pay the SEC millions of dollars after settling investigations into its dark pools.
However, sources report that it’s uncertain whether Barclays will emerge as the buyer of TD Direct as it’s thought TD Direct could pull out of selling altogether.
A merger of Barclays and TD Direct could lead to job losses, so there is a lack of consensus about whether to proceed, according to Sky News.
Barclays and TD Direct both declined to comment on these reports.