Barclays to fire 15% of Asian investment bank staff

Barclays has started to cut jobs in its Asian investment bank division as part of the UK lender’s restructuring plan set to be unveiled by chief executive Antony Jenkins next month.

The lay-offs are taking place in its global finance and risk solutions division, which contains equity and debt capital markets, and its MA business. They will amount to 15% of investment banking staff in Asia-Pacific, or at least 70 people, according to unofficial sources. The final number could be higher, but a Barclays spokesperson could not confirm the figures.

The process apparently began yesterday, but those affected are unlikely to include many high-profile names....