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Barclays will cut 3,700 jobs in reorganization

LONDON — Barclays announced a reorganization that will eliminate 3,700 jobs and close several business units, as the bank reported a big loss in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The overhaul of its operations comes after a series of scandals at the bank, including one concerning the manipulation of benchmark interest rates, which led to the resignation of the former chief executive, Robert E. Diamond Jr.

In a bid to reduce its exposure to risky trading, Barclays plans to close a number of operations in Europe and Asia, including a tax-planning unit that has been criticized for tarnishing the firm’s reputation.

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“There will be no going back to the old way of doing things,” the chief executive, Antony P. Jenkins, told reporters in London Tuesday. “We will never be in a position again of rewarding people for activities inconsistent with our values.”

Despite the revamping of its operations and emphasis on values, the bank plans to retain the majority of its investment banking unit, particularly operations in Britain and the United States. The division generated roughly 60 percent of the bank’s adjusted pretax profit in 2012.

Barclays will close four business divisions, while an additional 17 units will be closed, sold, or pared back in response to subdued market activity, Jenkins said. The expected layoffs across the bank’s operations represent around 3 percent of the firm’s global workforce.

The investment banking division, where about 1,800 employees are expected to be laid off, will be among the hardest hit. The cuts will primarily fall on the bank’s Asian and European equities divisions, as well as its agricultural commodities trading operations. Almost 90 percent of the reductions ­already have been made.