European banks from Barclays to BBVA are launching another round of cost-cutting as they brace for conditions to deteriorate this year, reports the Financial Times. This has been attributed to low interest rates, the UK vote to exit the EU and the latest stress test results. Barclays has shed 11,000 of its 130,000 staff since Jes Staley took over as chief executive in December through a hiring freeze and the closure of its operations in nine countries, mostly in Asia. Spain's BBVA is shedding at least 1,500 jobs, just over one per cent of its total staff, mostly to complete integration of the CatalunyaCaixa acquisition two years ago. Italy's UniCredit is also among the list of banks drawing up plans to slash costs with a fresh restructuring. Agricultural Bank of China plans to securitise 10.7 billion yuan (about US$1.7 billion) of non-performing loans under a trial program aimed at allowing Chinese banks to shift bad loans off their books, Bloomberg reports. The loans have a forecast recovery rate of 41 per cent and the sale price of the asset-backed securities will be 29 per cent of their face value. The Chinese government is hoping the loan securitisation program will allow it to avoid having to inject capital into the banks.