Barclays has announced that it had secured a licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to operate as a foreign authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) in the country. Sydney is another branch expected to launch services as a foreign bank by April 2022.

The foreign ADI licence will allow Britain’s third-largest lender by market value to speed up its plans to provide investors with easier access to Australia. Barclays said it considers Australia an essential part of its growth plans in the region. Setting up a local branch is part of the plan to grow its Australian client by offering more corporate and institutional clients.

“This foreign ADI license reinforces our commitment to Australia and enables us to proactively serve our clients with our global Corporate and Investment Bank platform, supporting their cross-border growth ambitions even further,” Barclays’ head of Asia Pacific Jaideep Khanna said.