More than 7,000 finance jobs have been relocated from London to the European Union as a result of Brexit, 400 fewer than expected in December, consultancy firm EY said on Tuesday (March 28).
While the total is well below the 12,500 job displacements forecast by companies in 2016 when Britain voted to leave the bloc, more could follow, EY said in its latest Brexit Tracker.
EY said a total of 2,900 local hires will be made across Europe and 2,500 in the UK, where just over a million people work in the financial services sector, in connection with Brexit.
Further relocations could stem from European Central Bank reviews of whether EU Brexit centers opened by banks using London as their European headquarters have enough staff to justify their new licences, EY said.
The Bank of England is checking these to avoid banks in London having too few senior staff.
“Human and operational relocations in European financial markets continue as companies navigate ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, post-pandemic dynamics and regulatory requirements,” said Omar Ali, EMEIA Financial Services Leader at EY, in a statement.
Dublin is the most popular destination for staff relocation and new hubs, followed by Luxembourg, Frankfurt and Paris.
EY said Paris did best in attracting jobs from London with a total of 2,800, followed by Frankfurt with around 1,800 and Dublin with 1,200.
The transfer of assets from London to EU centers still totals around £1.3 trillion ($1.7 trillion), EY said, adding that Brexit staff relocations are now part of a broader view strategic business drivers and operating models.
Bankers have privately said that having major hubs in London and the EU may not make long-term commercial sense.
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