LONDON, Sept 10 — London’s financial district will recover in the long run from a no-deal Brexit despite facing initial “shocks and disruptions”, the head of the City, Catherine McGuinness, said yesterday.
“I do think... a ‘no-deal’ Brexit cliff-edge risk has the potential to cause shocks and disruptions but I think it is less serious than it was initially because of the preparation made,” she told a press briefing.
“We will find a way of muddling through because of planning but there will be disruptions,” said McGuinness, policy chair at the City of London Corporation, the local government authority for the capital’s powerful financial district.
“I am very confident about London’s future and the UK’s financial sector,” she added, pointing to strong growth for the capital’s ‘fintech’ and ‘green’ finance sectors.
And McGuinness noted that the “UK financial sector is possibly further advanced than other sectors because it started planning as soon as the referendum” in favour of leaving the EU in 2016.
Around 5,000 finance jobs could have been moved from the UK by the time the country departs the European Union, irrespective of whether a deal is struck, she said.
Banks that have announced plans to relocate jobs abroad include JP Morgan Chase, UBS and HSBC.
According to a recent survey by financial group EY, British financial services firms have disclosed £1.3 billion (RM6.7 billion) in costs for relocations, legal advice, and contingency provisions.
In addition, they have put aside £2.6 billion for capital injections into new non-UK headquarters.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to take Britain out of the EU by the October 31 deadline with or without a formal divorce deal — despite warnings that the latter scenario would entail economic chaos — especially for sectors such as food, health and auto. — AFP
