Frankfurt to get just 200 out of 5,000 UBS staff in London
÷ SWISS bank UBS has told employees that the majority of those affected by Brexit will move to Frankfurt from London, setting out what it called a decentralised approach to relocating staff.
The moves are expected to affect fewer than 200 UBS staff, a source said. UBS employs around 5,000 people in London. Staff affected will be informed in the next few months and relocations will depend on where clients are based, according to a company memo seen by Reuters.
Separately, the Swiss bank said in its annual report on Friday that it will merge UBS Limited, its British entity, into UBS Europe SE, its German-headquartered European bank, in the absence of a transition deal between Britain and the EU. That would take place prior to Britain leaving the European Union on 29 March, 2019.
“After a thorough analysis, which included your feedback, we have opted for a more decentralised model and plan to leverage our existing UBS Europe SE and its extensive branch network,” UBS’s investment banking chief Andrea Orcel said.
The plans are the latest sign of how banks are starting to execute on Brexit contingency plans after British Prime Minister Theresa May ruled out retaining passporting rights for financial services.