Barclays 'to get cash infusion from major Japanese bank'

Barclays Plc may be close to securing a 100bn yen (€594m) capital injection from Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. as part of the bank’s efforts to weather the impact of the global credit crisis, according to media reports.

A deal between the two companies is in the “final stage” and is likely to include an agreement to co-operate in banking services in Asia as well as asset management, Kyodo News agency and others reported.

In addition to the main banking arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Barclays is in talks with Asian and Middle Eastern banks and sovereign wealth funds, including Temasek Holdings of Singapore and China Development Bank, to raise more than £4bn (€5bn) through a private placement of new shares, according to other news reports.

Barclays, Britain’s third-biggest bank, reported writedowns of £2.6bn (€3.3bn) through the first quarter of this year related to the sub-prime lending crisis in the United States.

The company said in a statement Monday that a share sale “by way of a placing and pre-emptive offer to existing shareholders ... is under active consideration,” though it did not mention how much money it might seek to raise.

If a deal with Barclays moves forward, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. would become the latest Japanese bank to funnel funds to a Western institution debilitated by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.

In January, Mizuho Corporate Bank placed £600m (€758m) with Merrill Lynch & Co. through a preferred share purchase.

Compared with their US and European counterparts, Japanese banks have emerged from the sub-prime turmoil in relatively good shape and are now looking to expand their overseas presence.