U.S. hedge fund Tiger Global has invested more than $1 billion in Barclays: FT

The hedge fund had bought most of its roughly 2.5 percent stake in Barclays in November, FT reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. http://on.ft.com/2G2ihqK

Tiger Global Management is also extending a vote of confidence in Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley's plans to strip back the bank to concentrate on its U.S.-led investment banking operations and its British-based consumer banking business, the report said.

Barclays did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. Tiger Global Management said the hedge fund had no comment on the report.

Staley has championed investment banking amid calls from some analysts and investors to ditch a business which has in recent years struggled to match the profitability of Barclays' more mundane retail and credit card units.

Investment banks globally have struggled in recent years to make returns in excess of their cost of capital, as tighter regulations, pressure on fees from automation and low global interest rates combined to squeeze profits.

Barclays is cutting up to 100 senior jobs at its investment banks, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

In 2016, around 1,000 jobs were cut from Barclays' investment banking business worldwide in an attempt to reduce costs and boost revenues. Barclays cut a total of 10,000 employees that year alone.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft and Paul Simao)