Banks and investment companies are leaving the City

Morgan Stanley will transfer $ 100 billion in assets from the United Kingdom to Frankfurt.

Large international banks and stockbrokers are flocking to the exit door from the UK ahead of Brexit to bolster their presence in the European Union as the City loses its title as the region’s financial hub.

Frankfurt seems to be the big winner of this process, while Paris has also entered the map of “winners” from the reshuffles in the British financial center. There could be a significant benefit for Athens as well, as stated by the head of the Prime Minister’s financial office, Alexis Patelis, the government is in advanced discussions with three banks located in London.

For months, US banking giants have announced their intentions to move a significant portion of their assets out of London, with the aim of ensuring that they have enough money in the EU. to continue trading with the European institutions, many of which have already done so.

At the same time, far from the City and the Canary Wharf (which is also one of the most important financial centers in the world) and to the European Union due to Brexit, the brokerage companies of large international banks that are also members of remote trading are moving their activities. on the Athens Stock Exchange but also on many EU stock exchanges.

Morgan Stanley is the latest του Brexit proof of investment giants. The US bank will transfer $ 100 billion in assets from the UK to Frankfurt, following in the footsteps of other major international banks. It is expected to complete the transfer of its assets within the first quarter of 2021, according to Bloomberg, strengthening the presence of its Morgan Stanley Europe subsidiary.
Goldman Sachs ($ 40-60 billion transfer) and JP Morgan (€ 230 billion and 200 staff) have all made similar moves in the past, while the Bundesbank has already announced that Germany is the most popular destination. in the EU for the banks that are leaving London due to Brexit and that in total the assets that will be transferred to the country reach 675 billion euros, creating 2,500 new jobs. Other banks that will move from London to Frankfurt are Citigroup, UBS and Standard Chartered.

As of this month, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Merrill Lynch International and Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited cease to conduct direct transactions with the EU from the British capital. This also applies to the Athens Stock Exchange, as these three companies are remote members of the Greek market, while according to a relevant announcement, they cease their activities on December 17.

As a result, they transfer their assets and part of their staff to existing ones in the EU. legal entities of their groups. According to information from “K”, Citigroup will continue its activity on the ATHEX. (and in other markets) through Frankfurt and Citigroup Global Markets Europe.

Credit Suisse (most likely) will also continue its activities through its subsidiary in Madrid – Credit Suisse Securities Sociedad De Valores. Merrill Lynch already has a brokerage firm in Paris – BofA Securities Europe, while its new official center of the bank in the EU. is Dublin, so it will choose one of these two capitals as its new trading center.