Barclays reports loss of £394 million and plans to split into 2 divisions

Barclays reported a net loss of £394 million for 2015 after legal costs and fines ballooned to more than £4.3 billion.

The bank plans to sell its African banking arm and split up into two divisions - one focusing on UK high street banking, and the other handling international corporate and investment banking activity.

"At the heart of Barclays strategy is to build on our strength as a transatlantic Consumer, Corporate, and Investment bank anchored in the two financial centres of the world, London and New York," CEO Jes Staley said in a statement on Tuesday.

The new structure will help simplify the bank, Staley added.

"Their creation as sibling divisions, which will become our ring fenced and non-ring fenced legal entities in due course, simplifies the Group and concentrates Barclays' competitive advantages in the right places," said Staley.

The split has been driven by regulatory reforms in the UK aimed at protecting retail depositors from more risky investment banking activities, as well as tougher global capital rules.

Provisions for payment protection insurance mis-selling increased to £2.2 billion from £1.2 billion in 2014, while the bank also took a £580 million loss on the sale of its Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese banking units.