Bank eyes shock move to LONDON: European investment firm give BACKING to Brexit Britain
A TOP Spanish bank is looking to move its headquarters to London because bosses believe the capital will keep its place as the centre for European finance.
International banking CFO: I don't see how Brexit will be negative
Alantra Partners SA, which is currently based in Madrid, is reportedly eyeing up new offices in the City despite Project Fear predictions of a post-Brexit exodus of financial institutions from the capital.
The investment bank oversees £3.3billion (€3.7billion) of assets and employs some 350 staff across 21 counties.
Two people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg the company is considering how many employees to relocate to the UK if the move goes ahead.
However, the plans are still currently private, and a spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment.
A number of large banks have already spoken of plans to relocate parts of their operations to the continent in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
And last year, Sam Woods, chief executive officer of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority warned up to 75,000 banking and insurance jobs could be lost if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal.
But the Alantra news flies in the face of these claims.
Currently financial institutions in the UK are granted “passporting” rights which allow them to do business with any other firm in the European Economic Area without red tape.
The rights are used by more than 5,400 British-based companies and help rake in £9billion in revenue.
But the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has previously insisted British banks will get no special deal after the UK splits from the EU in 2019.
Speaking in November, he said: “On financial services, UK voices suggest that Brexit does not mean Brexit.
"Brexit means Brexit, everywhere.
“The legal consequence of Brexit is that the UK financial service providers lose their EU passport.
“This passport allows them to offer their services to a market of 500 million consumers and 22 million businesses.”
However, two senior officials have since told Bloomberg they believe Mr Barnier’s claims were just an empty threat, adding the chief negotiator did not have the backing of the other 27 EU member states to make such a statement.