UK could lose 10,000 financial jobs

Nearly half of the companies surveyed said they would have to move staff or restructure their businesses because of Brexit, which is due to take place in March 2019.

Another third said it would have no impact, and the remainder said that they were still deciding on their plans or declined to comment.

The number of jobs to be moved or created overseas was based on answers from 39 companies employing at least 350,000 people. About 1.1 million people work in the UK’s financial sector.

The findings suggest that the first wave of job losses from Brexit may be at the lower end of estimates by industry lobby groups and firms, which could mean London will keep its place as the continent’s top finance centre, at least in the short term.

Most respondents said bigger moves could be in store in a decade or more, however. The survey also suggests some financial institutions may be delaying decisions, hoping a soft Brexit can be negotiated in talks currently going on in Brussels. Bank of England governor Mark Carney has specifically warned companies against that, saying it is important to start planning now.

London’s future as Europe’s premier financial hub is one of the biggest issues in Brexit talks because the sector is the UK’s biggest source of corporate tax revenue.

In a separate survey of 900 UK and Irish SMEs by merchant bank Close Brothers, two out of five Irish businesses said they felt less confident about the future since the Brexit vote.

SMEs in the Republic felt less confident by a wide margin compared to their counterparts in the UK. A third of businesses in the south west of England felt less confident, compared to 8% in East Anglia.

Only a quarter of London SMEs felt more confident, but 50% said it had made no difference. More than half of Irish businesses were in favour of another UK general election, the Close survey found.

Reuters and staff of Irish Examiner