Two More Banks on Post-Brexit Moves

Germany’s largest lender Deutsche Bank is bracing for Brexit and will have to move jobs from London to its headquarters in Frankfurt, chief executive John Cryan has said. Bank of America is also planning a similar move.

“For now, it’s far from clear what Brexit constitutes, we are not really sure what shape it will take,” Cryan said in a video published on the bank’s website, AFP reported.

“We will try to minimize disruption for clients and for our own people, but inevitably some roles will need to be either moved or at least added in Frankfurt,” he said.

With some 9,000 employees in London—around one in 10 of its global workforce—Deutsche has the largest presence of any foreign bank in the UK.

Cryan did not offer any idea of the number of jobs that might move to the German financial capital ahead of March 2019, when Britain will formally leave the European Union. “But we will maintain a duplicated infrastructure at least for the transition period,” he said.

“We want to get to a position where London and Frankfurt can be used interchangeably.”

Meanwhile, Bank of America also announced Friday that it will move its hub for EU business to Dublin from London following Brexit.

The Irish capital will be “the preferred location for (the bank’s) principal EU legal entities following the UK’s departure from the EU,” BofA said in a statement. “Bank of America has operated in Ireland and engaged in the local community for almost 50 years,” chief executive Brian Moynihan said.

BofA, the second biggest US bank by assets, did not specify the employment impact of the decision.

The bank currently employs about 700 people in Dublin and 4,500 in London, and is expected to transfer a small number of jobs from London to Dublin, a person familiar with the matter said.

BofA said it also will transfer functions out of London to other EU venues “with the focus on how we can best support our clients in these markets.”