Barclays plans to shut India equities business

MUMBAI - Barclays Plc plans to shut its India equities business as part of the British bank's efforts to slash costs and boost profit, two sources with direct knowledge of the development said on Monday.

Barclays equities business in India, which was rolled out in 2011, includes research and broking services for institutional investors, and it employs about two dozen people, the sources told Reuters.

The closure of the India equities business is part of new Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley's plan to cut costs, they said, adding a final decision on this could be taken by the end of this month.

The sources did not want to be named as the development is not public yet. A spokesman for Barclays in India declined to comment.