Giant Dutch bank sending its traders to London for Brexit

DUTCH banking giant ING is moving 60 traders to London to take advantage of the capital’s unrivalled role as a finance hub.

It came as City sources poured cold water on French claims US banks could leave.

The jobs, which will be shifted from Amsterdam and Brussels, are a sharp retort to claims the City will haemorrhage business because of Brexit.

ING said more positions could follow. ‘Even after Brexit, London has and will continue to have a deep labour talent pool to support our business,’ it said.

Bullish French finance minister Michel Sapin visited Washington last week and said he was now certain that Wall Street financiers would be moving roles from London to the Continent.

Yesterday, he said Britain would definitely lose US lenders’ business because of Brexit. ‘They are tell- ing us clearly that there will be a transfer of activity,’ said Sapin, whose party has slumped in the polls ahead of elections next year. ‘It’s no longer a question of if, but when.’

The EU is threatening to throw up barriers to force finance firms to move inside the bloc.

And although the City believes some roles will shift abroad, no one expects a rush for the exits. One insider said: ‘There’s been no sign US banks are planning to leave London. They . . . have a long-term commitment to remaining in the capital.’

Conservative MP John Redwood hit back, saying: ‘I’m sure the French think this is their best chance to try and pull back some of the business they’ve lost to London over the years, but they don’t have the right business climate or a good approach to investment banking.’