UK banks to cash in on diving dollar

THE weak dollar is pushing more UK banking giants across the Atlantic to snap up cheap US deals.

Barclays is poised to buy US credit card company Providian Financial in a £2.2bn deal. Rumours are rife that HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland are eyeing New York's second-biggest bank GreenPoint Financial which would be worth £3bn-plus.

Teather and Greenwood analyst Martin Cross said: 'Interest in the US has been stimulated by the strong pound.'

He said banks have been forced overseas by Competition Commission rulings against UK mergers.

Barclays' boss Matt Barrett has made no secret of his ambition to expand Barclaycard overseas from 1.4m customers to 9m - the same as in the UK.

Providian is seen as a good match. Barclays bought its UK business in 2002 for £454m.

UK banks, notably NatWest and Midland, have come to grief in the US in the past, but Cross said: 'They have learnt from that.'