Barclays begins talks with Spanish banks about retail disposal

Barclays has begun to speak to potential suitors about the sale of its Spanish banking arm.Chief Executive Anthony Jenkins said earlier this month that he wanted to sell the bank's retail network in Spain, Italy and France within two to three years.However, according to reports in Spain, Barclays has already presented its book to the big Spanish players, though it has apparently not yet appointed an investment bank to carry out the process.So far, according Spanish newspaper El Pais, BBVA and Catalan bank CaixaBank are the only potential buyers which have expressed interest, with Santander, Sabadell and Banco Popular apparently not having shown much interest.Private equity groups Apollo Global Management and Centerbridge Capital Partners are also interested in the lender´s retail businesses in Spain and Portugal, according to Bloomberg.OH