BANKS LOSE APPETITE FOR BREXIT FIGHT
Major lenders say they will shy away from taking similar position in new vote
WHILE Britain debates the merits of a second Brexit referendum, London’s financial centre is steering clear of the argument, resigned to the need to shift some business elsewhere.
Burned by backing the ill-fated “Remain” campaign three years ago, major global and British banks said they would shy away from taking a similar position in a new vote, preferring to spend time and money on “futureproofing” their business, including tackling outdated technology and moving into new markets.
A Reuters survey of leadership attitudes at 17 British and global banks found just six of the 11 institutions
who responded to the survey backed the idea of a People’s Vote to break a parliamentary impasse on a proposed exit deal.
Four banks said they opposed another vote while one bank said it would remain agnostic on all Brexit scenarios and would let the political process — now stretching towards its third year — run its course.
None of the 11 respondents said they would be prepared to put cash behind a campaign for either a “Leave” or “Remain” outcome at this stage.
To prepare for Brexit, banks have transferred billions of pounds in client assets to new European Union (EU) legal entities and shifted around 2,000 roles away from London to new hubs in cities including Dublin, Paris, Frankfurt and Madrid.
But now the hard graft is complete, the industry biggest players say they would not reverse those changes even if Brexit was scrapped.
Spreading top talent across several European cities has enhanced the banks’ appeal to some EU clients and reduced costs linked to doing business in London, one of the world’s most expensive cities.
“The horse has bolted,” a source at one of the banks which responded to the survey said.
Britain’s opposition Labour Party has said it will support a second vote but only if Prime Minister Theresa May refuses to change her withdrawal deal or if there is no new national election.
A second senior banking source said he believed the chances of a second referendum were on the rise but he doubted it would garner anything like the same backing in finance industry circles as the first Remain campaign.