Barclays, the UK’s third biggest bank, is paying around £1 billion for parts of Lehman Brothers, the US bank whose collapse triggered the week of turmoil in the finance sector. 
Barclays, a High Street rival to dealer POS finance, believes its move will make it a global force in the banking world, and so more easily able to obtain funds for retail lending.

The deal includes two data centres in America and Lehman Brothers’ former Manhattan headquarters.