Barclays says could sell or float its European units

LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays Plc said it could sell or float parts of its European retail banking operations after putting all of them into a "bad bank" of assets it intends to run down. "A sale or an IPO would be a potential option for the assets we have in there," Barclays Chief Executive Antony Jenkins said on CNBC television. Barclays said on Thursday it will axe 19,000 jobs in the next three years and set up a "bad bank" to house unwanted assets, as it strives to turn itself around in the face of a trading slump that Jenkins said could be a long-term drag. "There have been two very significant changes in the last 12 months. Regulation has become much clearer, and the impact of regulation on certain aspects of the investment bank, which are much more capital intensive. "We also believe the economic environment has deteriorated for the FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities) business and some of the pressures we saw on the business towards the end of last year are clearly structural as well as cyclical, so now is the right time to reposition the bank," Jenkins said. (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Matt Scuffham)