LONDON (Standard&Poor's) April 25, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the ratings on Barclays Bank PLC (Barclays; AA/Stable/A-1+) are unlikely to be affected by today's announcement that it is still in discussions with ABSA Group Ltd. (owner of ABSA Bank Ltd. (BBBpi/--/--)) relating to the possibility of an offer to acquire 60% of ABSA shares (for more information, see article entitled "BULLETIN: Barclays Bank Ratings Unaffected by Possible Acquisition of Majority Stake in ABSA", published on Sept. 24, 2004, on RatingsDirect, Standard&Poor's Web-based credit analysis system). An acquisition would add to Barclays' existing African operation and give it a strong position in the South African market. It would constitute a significant acquisition for Barclays,
