Barclays to Cut Up to 400 Jobs in Investment Bank to Trim Costs

LONDON - The British bank Barclays is preparing to cut as many as 400 jobs in its investment bank as part of an effort to trim its costs, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The jobs cuts are expected to be announced in the coming weeks by Antony P. Jenkins, Barclays’ chief executive, as part of an ongoing restructuring and cost-cutting effort, said the person, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the reductions publicly.

Last year, Barclays said it would cut at least 3,700 jobs as part of a strategic review, including 1,800 in its corporate and investment banking businesses. Barclays employs about 140,000 people worldwide.

Sky News first reported the job cuts on Tuesday.

Mr. Jenkins, who took the bank’s top post amid an interest-rate rigging scandal in 2012, has said the bank wants to reduce its annual costs by 1.7 billion pounds, or $2.8 billion, by 2015.

Last year, the bank ended its sponsorship of the bike-sharing program in London, known affectionately as “Boris bikes” after London Mayor Boris Johnson. As part of an effort to reduce costs and reshape the bank, Barclays is conducting a review of all of its sponsorship programs, which include Premier League soccer.

Barclays declined to comment on the potential job reductions on Wednesday.

The bank said that it would “comment on plans to improve the group’s leverage position further” when it announces its year-end results on Feb. 11.

Barclays said on Wednesday that its fourth-quarter results would also include additional charges of £110 million against income in its investment bank related to litigation and regulatory penalties.

Several European banks, including Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland, have announced plans to book additional reserves for litigation costs as part of their fourth-quarter results in recent weeks.

Barclays swung to a profit of £728 million in the third quarter, but was hurt by a decline in income in its investment bank, driven primarily by a 44 percent drop in its fixed-income business.

Like many of its banking peers in Britain, Barclays also is considering potential branch closures as customers move to mobile and online banking. But the bank said on Wednesday, “We have no plans to announce significant reductions to our U.K. branch network.”

The bank has opened four mini-branches in Asda supermarkets as part of a pilot project. Asda is the British unit of Wal-Mart Stores, which has allowed banks to open smaller branches in its stores in the United States for many years.

“We have consistently been clear that, over time, there will be fewer traditional branches as we move to provide banking services to customers where and when they find it most convenient,” the bank said. “However, the branch network will remain an important part of our banking service and we will never leave a community without the ability to transact.”