Post-Brexit Poll Shows Bank Executives Worried about Exile, Costs
Despite Brexit, 72 percent of British banks think London will remain Europe’s financial center in five years, according to new results from a survey the Tabb Group conducted on behalf of consultancy Synechron. Yet 55 percent of the 80 capital market executives polled said their financial institutions have set up committees charged with coming up with relocation plans as the U.K. prepares to leave the European Union.
“Banks are no longer waiting for the government to trigger Article 50 and have begun setting up steering committees to plan for life outside the European Union, with some already considering relocating staff to other cities around Europe,” said Tim Cuddeford, managing director at Synechron Business Consulting, referring to the bureaucratic vehicle through with the U.K. would leave the EU. “Whilst Brexit poses an unforeseen challenge for financial institutions, the prospect of rising compliance and huge relocation costs appear inevitable.”
The survey, conducted in September, also found that “56 percent of senior British capital markets executives believe that compliance costs will increase following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, with not one executive expecting regulatory costs to decrease. This contrasts a popular view that Brexit would reduce red-tape for financial institutions.” Meanwhile, 19 percent of respondents want the U.K. to negotiate to remain part of the European Economic Area, with 18 percent in favor of crafting bilateral treaties.
A Paybefore poll from earlier this year found that 22 percent of respondents think Brexit will lead to e-money issuers closing U.K. offices for EU headquarters.
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