Barclays "is evaluating" hiving off its investment bank and wealth management operations into a separate entity to unlock shareholder value, according to research by Italy's Mediobanca, which initiated coverage of the UK bank today with an "Outperform" rating based on its belief the UK bank is a restructuring story.

The research report, Mediobanca's first on the banking sector since the Italian group hired a team equity analysts to begin coverage of financial services in April, said Barclays trades at a significant discount to its peers.