More than 7,500 finance jobs have left UK for EU!

LONDON: More than 7,500 finance jobs and a trillion pounds in assets have already left Britain for the European Union as banks prepare for full-blown Brexit in January, consultants EY said on Thursday. Banks, insurers and asset managers have opened new or expanded existing hubs in the EU to continue serving their clients given that future access will be more limited once transition arrangements expire on December 31.

The number of jobs and amount of assets is still a fraction of total jobs and assets held by Britain’s financial sector. But there could still be a flurry of further staff and operational announcements in the weeks before the year end, said Omar Ali, UK financial services managing partner at EY. “Firms must now ensure that as a minimum they will be operational and can serve clients on the 1st of January 2021,” Ali said. — Reuters