British investment bank Barclays will shut its Korean operations after 39 years as the bank seeks to slash costs through global restructuring, sources said Wednesday.

The London-headquartered financial institution will close its bank and equities units in Seoul before the end of the year as part of the wider pullback in Asia.

“Barclays decided to exit from Korea to refocus on Hong Kong, Singapore and India markets in the Asian region,” an official of the bank said. 


Some 103 employees work for Barclays Bank and Barclays Capital in the country, according to Korea Financial Investment Association.

Hurt by stiff competition from other foreign and domestic investment banks, Barclays’ Korean operation has been posting a loss since 2011. In 2014, Barclays Bank generated 9.6 billion won ($7.9 million) in net profit while Barclays Capital posted a net loss of 18 billion won.

It also facing adverse business conditions in Asia after regional markets could not sustain growth since the 2008 financial crisis.

The bank entered Korea in 1977 by launching its Seoul office and opened the equities branch in 1993.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)