TD Securities moving trade hub to Dublin in the wake of Brexit
Bond-trading business planned as non-EU nations seek access in new sites
LONDON Toronto-Dominion Bank has picked Dublin for its new trading hub inside the European Union in preparation for Britain’s departure from the European economic bloc.
The bank’s TD Securities unit plans to establish a bond-trading business there, subject to regulatory approval, according to a statement on the Irish development agency’s website Tuesday.
The unit of Canada’s largest lender by assets already has a fully licensed operation in the Irish capital, with two employees, and plans to have as many as 10 in the city by January, Toronto-Dominion said.
The firm currently has 300 staff in London.
London has flourished as a hub for global finance in part because firms based there have the right to do business across the 28-nation EU. British banks, as well as firms from the U.S., Japan and other non-EU countries with a base in London, stand to lose this “passport” after Brexit and may need to channel business through locations in the bloc.
Dublin is the second most popular destination — after Frankfurt — for financial-services companies seeking ongoing access. The city provides a low-tax Englishspeaking location and has similar laws and regulations to its U.K. neighbour.
“This is a great win for Ireland as we seek to deepen and expand the range of financial-services companies who are investing in Ireland,” said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Toronto, where he is concluding a trade mission.
“As we face into the challenges of Brexit, we are determined to pursue and seize new opportunities and investment projects from key companies worldwide.”
Banks have been undertaking legal, financial and economic analysis in choosing new bases for their EU business if it can no longer be done from London.
The largest global banks in London have indicated that about 9,600 jobs could go to the continent or Ireland in the next two years, though few have yet moved, according to public statements and information from industry sources.
In recent weeks Morgan Stanley, Citi and Bank of America as well as Japan’s Nomura, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui have announced decisions for new EU headquarters, all opting for Frankfurt or Dublin.
These cities’ success follows yearlong campaigns, as government agencies and lobby groups staged a charm offensive with the banks unseen since the 2007-09 crisis.
As a medium-sized city, Frankfurt has also been proclaiming its cultural attractions. That involved taking Wall Street firms to the city’s English-language theatre and Japanese bankers to see the Eintracht Frankfurt soccer team play.
Ireland has adopted similar sporting tactics.
When Dublin hosted a football game between Boston College and Georgia Tech last year, government ministers worked the room at a dinner of 500 executives from Boston and Atlanta, including State Street chief executive Jay Hooley.