Bank of America completes Brexit switch
DUBLIN: Bank of America finished moving its banking and markets operations in Europe to a new base in Dublin from London, the bank said on Monday, after it received all necessary regulatory and court approvals.
International banks are setting up subsidiaries across the European Union to ensure they can continue to serve clients. Their London operations may lose the right to operate across the EU with Britain’s departure from the bloc in March still filled with uncertainty.
As part of its preparation for Brexit, Bank of America announced last year that it would merge Bank of America Merrill Lynch International, its London-based subsidiary, into its Irish entity based in Dublin.
“We are pleased to have worked closely and constructively with our regulators to complete this critical component of our Brexit preparations exactly on schedule and well ahead of the earliest possible date of the UK’S exit from the EU,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch Europe chair Anne Finucane said in a statement.
Bank of America last year became the first US bank to pick Dublin as its new base for its EU operations, as the Irish capital’s growing financial centre competes with the likes of Frankfurt and Paris to win business leaving London.
Ireland’s central bank said in October that it is processing over 100 Brexit-related applications to authorise firms across sectors including investment management, banking, payments and insurance.
The regulator is still receiving applications from small to medium financial firms looking to set up or extend operations in Dublin, and it is aware of more to be submitted as the Brexit clock ticks down, an official familiar with the process said last month.