Barclays (London Stock Exchange: BARC-GB) said on Tuesday it would cut at least 3,700 jobs in 2013 as part of a strategic overhaul aimed at reducing the group's annual costs by 1.7 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) by 2015.
The group will cut 1,800 jobs in the Corporate and Investment Bank and 1,900 in Europe Retail and Business Banking. It also confirmed it will close its Structured Capital Markets tax-related business.
"There is no doubt that 2012 was a difficult year for Barclays and the entire banking sector. The behaviors which made headlines during the year stemmed from a period of 20 years in banking in which the sector became too aggressive, too focused on the short-term, and too disconnected from the needs of customers and clients, and wider society," Barclays said in a statement. "Barclays was not immune from the impact of these trends, and we suffered reputational damage in 2012 as a consequence. Change is needed both in our industry and at Barclays," the group said.
The sweeping changes came as the group announced 2012 pretax profit of 246 million pounds ($385 million), down sharply from 5.9 billion pounds in 2011 as the full toll of charges for compensating customers for mis-sold financial products and a reduction in the value of the bank's debt became clear.
In a statement CEO Antony Jenkins said the group would focus on markets where it has "scale and competitive advantage" and would focus on investment in the U.K., the U.S. and Africa while maintaining what it described as an "appropriate presence" in Asia and Europe.
Jenkins will discuss the group's restructuring plans in an interview on CNBC at 9 a.m. London time.
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