Banking giant Barclays has agreed to sell a £460m portfolio of US and European private equity interests to AXA Private Equity, as a result of stricter regulations in the banking industry.The portfolio, managed by Barclays Capital, includes investments in private equity funds as well as several direct private equity interests held by the investment banking division."The sale of this portfolio has been agreed in anticipation of new regulations impacting the cost to banks of holding private equity investments and their future returns," the firm said.The agreed price, which exceeds the book value, is expected to have a positive impact on core tier one capital, and should see the bank pocket a profit on the sale."This transaction is further evidence that we are delivering on our commitment to increase our balance sheet efficiency", said finance director Chris Lucas."We are pleased with this transaction and continue to look for similar opportunities going forward."Shares were trading 0.34% higher at 250.1p as of 09:15 on Thursday morning.BC