BARCLAYS is selling the bulk of its operations in Spain after agreeing a deal worth £630 million with one of the country's biggest banks.

The transaction with CaixaBank is expected to complete next year and involves 262 branches and 2,400 staff in retail banking, wealth and investment management and corporate banking. The UK banking giant said the deal will generate an estimated loss of £500 million compared with the book value but was part of its strategy to offload non-core assets.