Standard Chartered is to shut its stock-trading and underwriting business and shed thousands of retail banking jobs as it looks to slash $400 million in costs and reverse a slide in profits.

The UK based, Asia-focused lender is closing its cash equities, equity research and equities capital markets business, which it said have been unprofitable, resulting in 200 jobs being cut, mostly in Asia. The move will save the bank $100 million, it said in a statement Thursday. The bank will keep its convertible bond and equity-derivatives business, along with economic and foreign exchange and bond market research, it said.