Now Barclays looks at post-Brexit expansion in Dublin

Barclays has confirmed that it will consider expansion of its Dublin offices when the UK leaves the European Union

Brexit- Barclays looks at Dublin expansion

Relocate Editorial

27 January 2017

The announcement came just two days after Citigroup and Credit Suisse became the latest financial service companies to reveal they would be relocating jobs from London because of the probable, post-Brexit loss of the 'passporting rights' that currently allow UK-based banks to trade freely across the EU. Previously, HSBC, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and UBS said some British-based jobs would move abroad.Barclays, which already has a subsidiary employing about 100 people in Dublin, declined to say whether expanding its Irish operations would lead to a relocation of London staff or the hiring of new workers locally."We have made clear repeatedly that we will plan for a range of Brexit contingencies, including building greater capacity into our existing operations in Dublin," said a Barclays spokesman. "Identifying available office space is a necessary and predictable part of that contingency planning process."

London – secure position as global financial hub

Jes Staley, Barclays chief executive, confirmed earlier this month that, while some operations might move, he did not expect Brexit to threaten London's position as a global financial hub – a view shared by most other international bank executives.However, the difficulty for the financial services is the doubt surrounding what the final Brexit deal will lead to, leading to the rush of contingency planning to relocate staff following a speech last week by Prime Minister Theresa May in which she confirmed the UK would be leaving the single market when it quits the EU.The insurance industry is also being affected by the current wave of uncertainty. Inga Beale, chief executive of Lloyd's of London, said last week that she was moving quickly to establish a subsidiary in the EU in order to preserve the 11 per cent of the organisation's sales that come from the continent."We will no longer be licensed (after Brexit) – we will no longer be able to provide insurance for EU policyholders," she said. "We will get through this. We have our plan."

Loss of transactions worth trillions of euros

CNN reported, "Financial services account for roughly 12 per cent of Britain's economy, and the industry employs 2.2 million people."Some analysts have suggested that financial services 'passports' could be replaced with 'equivalence', an agreement that would allow UK businesses to continue offering financial services across borders. But experts say equivalence is a fragile arrangement that requires careful regulatory coordination. It could be revoked by the EU with just 30 days notice and it only covers some parts of the industry."There's another problem: Much of the global trade in euros takes place in London. The city handles transactions worth trillions of euros – currencies, shares, bonds and other financial contracts. Some of that business will almost certainly now move to the EU. The loss of business for bankers is likely to trickle through to the rest of the economy."Competition is now heating up among cities in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and others, all hoping to attract activities and jobs from London.Douglas Flint, chairman of HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, told British members of parliament earlier in January, "If you are a foreign institution hubbing into Europe from London, you really have no choice other than to think very quickly and carefully how to replicate the access to Europe. If you have already established operations in Europe, you can take your time."

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