Brexit: London will lose €800 billion of assets to Germany

Traders
work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) following
news that the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European
Union on June 24, 2016 in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

• Around €750 billion to €800 billion ($911 billion) in
  assets are expected to move from London to Frankfurt in the
  first quarter of 2019.
• At least 30 financial institutions have chosen
  Frankfurt as their EU-base post Brexit.
• Frankfurt’s financial-industry body claims 10,000 jobs
  will leave the UK for Germany.

While Theresa May tries to get her Brexit deal over the
line, banks have already packed their bags and started moving to
Frankfurt. It’s more bad news for the City of
London. 

Frankfurt Main Finance, a lobby group, has
claimed that between €750 billion to €800 billion ($911
billion) in financial assets will move to Europe’s largest
economy by the time Britain leaves the European Union on March
29, 2019. It’s yet another indication of the fundamental shift
taking place in the UK’s financial-services industry, which makes
up 6.5% of the economy, as Brexit-related changes strip the
country of jobs and assets. 

US bank giants Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and
Citigroup have opted to move billions in assets to Frankfurt.
Swiss lender UBS has opted for Frankfurt as its new EU base.
Similarly, Lloyds, Standard Chartered, Credit Suisse, and Nomura
are among the other lenders that might expand or move to
Frankfurt as a result of Brexit. 

“We stand by the potential of up to 10,000 jobs moving to
Frankfurt which we estimated on day 1 after the Brexit
referendum,” said Hubertus Väth, Managing Director of Frankfurt
Main Finance. 

UK Chancellor Philip Hammond recently released
official assessments showing that the UK economy will be hit
under all likely Brexit
outcomes.

Other banks have opted for Paris and Dublin as their EU
hubs in light of Brexit.