Barclays PLC's chief executive said it would look at partnerships or mergers to keep pace with U.S. competitors.
"Barclays has always been open to considering partnerships with other banks on the Continent or across the world," Matthew Barrett told journalists Tuesday outside the International Monetary Conference in London. "Reaccelerating consolidation in the United States is lending more impetus to dialogue" among banks.
Other top executives of European banks, including Deutsche Bank AG's Josef Ackermann, ABN Amro Holding NV's Rijkman Groenink, and Commerzbank AG's Klaus-Peter Mueller, have also said they will consider mergers as U.S. takeovers put pressure on them to expand.
Some $299 billion of bank merger deals have been announced this year, the most since 1998, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s $58 billion deal to buy Bank One Corp., the largest since 1998, is expected to close this summer. In April, Bank of America Corp. bought FleetBoston Financial Corp. for $47 billion.
"European and all the other international banks cannot simply ignore this," Mr. Mueller said at the conference. "The concentration in the U.S. is forcing ... [companies in] all other countries to review their policies."
According to people familiar with Deutsche Bank, the Frankfurt company is mulling mergers with companies including Credit Suisse Group and ING Group NV.
Deutsche Bank held talks this year with Barclays, Britain's third-largest bank, but negotiations broke off because of overlaps in their' capital markets units, said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified.
Mr. Barrett declined to discuss the matter, as did a Ronald Weichert, a Deutsche Bank spokesman.
A merger would help the London company secure growth as it loses market share in the domestic credit card market and lending margins narrow.
Barclays may have to look for acquisitions outside the United Kingdom because it will be prohibited from buying domestic competitors.
