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By Dinesh Nair
DUBAI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Barclays Plc isconducting a strategic review of its retail banking operationsin the United Arab Emirates which could lead to a sale of thebusiness, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Barclays, Britain's third-largest bank, confirmed on Tuesdaythat it was holding a review of the retail business in the UAEbut did not provide any further comment. The sources spoke oncondition of anonymity as the matter is not public.
The review, conducted internally, is still at a preliminarystage and no decision has been made on the outcome of the study,the sources said. No outside consultants or financial advisershave yet been hired to find potential buyers, they said.
Barclays' retail banking operations in the UAE include itspersonal banking, lending and mortgage services and a creditcard business. The bank has between 500 and 1,000 staff inretail banking but most are outsourced employees and not part ofthe bank's direct payroll, one banking source said.
The bank's corporate banking, private banking and investmentbanking activities in the UAE are not part of the review,according to the sources. In the Middle East, Barclays hasretail banking operations in Egypt aside from the UAE.
The review also does not encompass the bank's Egyptianretail operation, which is a much larger and profitable businessthan in the UAE, according to the sources. (Additional reporting by Stanely Carvalho in Abu Dhabi; editingby Tom Pfeiffer)
