HSBC won’t be moving its HQ away from London post-Brexit
HSBC has confirmed for the first time since last week's referendum that the UK vote to quit the European Union will not lead to the bank moving its headquarters from London.
Speaking at a conference organised by lobby group The City UK, HSBC's chairman Douglas Flint repeated comments from February this year that the referendum result would not trigger another review of the group’s domicile.
HSBC announced in February it would not move its base away from London following a drawn out, 10 month review. It was thought Hong Kong or New York were likely options for the group, but a shortlist was never made public.
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“We said at the time we made the decision that we’d taken that [a Brexit] into consideration and that in the event of this outcome we would not call for that to be revisited,” said Flint.
Earlier this week it was reported that HSBC could move up to 1,000 staff from London to Paris if the UK left the European Union Single Market but Flint dismissed the rumours.
The Brexit vote means the UK will have to renegotiate its relationship with the Single Market following the formal declaration to leave – known as Article 50.
The UK's decision to leave the EU places the passporting rules – which allow UK banks to operate throughout the European Economic Area without restrictions – in doubt.
A statement from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) on Friday pointed out that reaching a deal on passporting would take some time, so it would be business as usual for bankers for the foreseeable future.
Read more: What now? The UK and the EU Single Market
Shortly after the vote last week Flint said:
We are today entering a new era for Britain and British business. The work to establish fresh terms of trade with our European and global partners will be complex and time consuming.
We will be working tirelessly in the coming weeks and months to help our customers adjust to and prepare for the new environment.
As one of the largest, most stable, liquid and prudent financial institutions in the world, HSBC is well placed to support our customers and the markets as they deal with the challenges that will arise. Our commitment to British businesses, customers and staff in the UK remains undiminished.
The banking sector has been braced this week for sharp sell-offs following last Friday's referendum result.
Though HSBC's shares looked wobbly earlier in the week they have climbed over the past couple of sessions – adding to gains today. HSBC was up 0.34 per cent at pixel time.