Barclays announces 3,700 job cuts

Barclays has said it will cut 3,700 jobs following a strategic review, as it aims to reduce costs by £1.7bn.

Almost half of those job losses will come at its investment bank.

Barclays also reported a plunge in pre-tax profit to £246m in 2012, from £5.9bn in 2011, after setting aside compensation for mis-sold products and a loss on the value of its own debt.

Barclays boss Antony Jenkins told the BBC: "It will take years before people change their impression of us."

He added: "I'm not daunted by that at all."

Of the job cuts, 1,800 will come from its corporate and investment banking, with the vast majority in Asia, and 1,900 will come from its European retail and business banking.

Barclays - which currently employs 140,000 staff - said very few of the job losses would be in the UK.

The bank is seeking to rebuild its reputation after a string of damaging incidents. It was fined £290m last year for attempting to rig the Libor interest rate, and has also been caught up in the industry-wide mis-selling scandals involving payment protection insurance (PPI) and interest rate investment products.

On an adjusted basis, profits rose by 26% to £7.05bn, in line with analysts' expectations.

Barclays has been rocked by the Libor and mis-selling scandals and Mr Jenkins, who replaced Bob Diamond as chief executive in August, has pledged to transform the banking group.