Barclays scouts Dublin EU hub
BARCLAYS plc has settled on Dublin for its main hub inside the EU after Brexit and is planning to add about 150 staff there if UK-based finance companies lose easy access to the trading bloc, according to people with knowledge of the decision.
The bank started scouting the city for office space this month and has been in contact with Irish regulators about expanding its operations, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are not yet public.
Barclays is moving ahead with contingency plans so that it can continue serving EU clients if British Prime Minister Theresa May fails to strike a transitional or permanent deal preserving London’s access within the two-year renegotiation period.
“We have made clear repeatedly that we will plan for a range of Brexit contingencies, including building greater capacity into our existing operations in Dublin,” the bank said in a statement. “Identifying available office space is a necessary and predictable part of that contingency planning process.”
International banks have started to reveal more about their plans to shift jobs and set up new offices within the EU after May indicated last week that she would pull Britain out of the single market. Financial firms are most concerned about a “cliff edge” Brexit, whereby all access is cut off after two years. Barclays staff moved to or hired in Dublin could include senior managers, derivatives specialists, currency traders, compliance and human resources staff, one of the people said.
Barclays’ “Plan A” working assumption was that a deal will eventually be hammered out and British financial companies will not have to relocate services such as euro clearing to subsidiaries inside the EU, one of the people said. Nevertheless, the lack of clarity meant executives had to prepare for the worst, the people said. The bank expected initial contingency planning to cost about £15-million (R252-million), they said.
Standard Chartered had also approached Irish officials about making Dublin its legal base inside the EU, people familiar with its discussions said in December, and Credit Suisse Group is said to be exploring options to expand in the city. —