Barclays Plc is exploring cutting ties with thousands of investment banking clients as the bank’s management team looks to boost profitability, according to the FT.

Executives are mulling cutting ties with the firm’s least profitable institutional clients, the FT said, citing people familiar with the discussions. That could mean ending relationships with more than 2,500 customers out of a total of over 10,000, the paper said, while noting that a person close to Barclays said the figure was lower.