Business environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Business environment - Essay Example One of the top companies in the banking industry according to the FTSE 100 listing is the Barclays bank, an institution that has had a fair share of opportunities and challenges, but still remain on top of other multinationals (Dash & Das, 2013). Barclays bank is a British based banking multinational that has continued to dominate the banking industry in not only the United Kingdom or Europe, but also other continents of the world. Based in London, United Kingdom, Barclays bank was categorised into the universal bans category due to its widespread presence in most countries and regions in the world. Today, the bank operates in over 50 countries with over 48 million customers evenly spread in different sectors of the world economy. The great performance and dominance of the company has been attributed to its cluster categorisation, which provides customers with a wide range of banking services (Barclays Bank, 2013). Barclays bank currently boosts three major divisions made up of the corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and the retail and business category. Barclays bank was established in 1690 by James Barclay and has grown to be a major force in the industry through partnerships, collaborations, mergers and acquisitions. For example, the backhouse’s bank and the gurney bank formed a partnership with the company and this strengthened not only its capital base but also the market presence in the country. The great performance of Barclays bank has stood out significantly and this has been attributed to the proper management and customer care approaches it has adopted. According to an annual report released by the company in 2011, the company’s solid position improved by 11% tier one ratio. This was accompanied by a  £161 billion pounds improvement in the liquidity pool of the company relative to the figures that the company posted in the previous financial year.