Barclays bank acquires the Italian credit card portfolio of Citi. The terms of the transactions were not unveiled.

Under the deal about 197,000 credit card accounts and gross assets worth approximately EUR234 million will be sold to Barclays.

Barclays says the business and staff will be integrated into its existing Italian operations and cards will be rebranded "over time".

Leo Salom, CEO, global retail and commercial banking, Western Europe, Barclays, says: "This acquisition provides Barclays with the perfect opportunity to grow and develop further our cards business in Italy. The deal will create significant scale for continued growth and development."