Luxembourg reckons City firms are about to head there in their droves – here’s our guide to banking there
Could your job be about to take you further into the depths of the European Union?
After the British Bankers' Association said yesterday that City bosses are on the brink of leaving the UK, the head of a Luxembourg finance body has suggested they're breaking down his door.
Yesterday British Bankers' Association boss Anthony Browne told The Guardian banks have already begun contingency planning, adding he expected them to begin the process of leaving the UK within the next two months.
"Their hands are quivering over the relocation button," he said.
"Many smaller banks plan to start relocating before Christmas. Bigger banks are expected to start in the first quarter of the year."
And this morning we discovered where those banks might be off to, after Nicolas Mackel, the chief executive of Luxembourg finance body Luxembourg for Finance, told Radio 4's Today programme London financial institutions had already been in touch.
We already know asset management giant M&G is planning on setting up an operation there: earlier this month the FT reported it was planning to build a new investment division in the country.
But Mackel said the "real consequences" of Brexit will come in the medium term, rather than in the immediate aftermath of the vote. He said most banks will move to Europe as the end of the Brexit process nears, rather than them leaving in their droves now.
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Speak the lingo: The Luxembourgish guide to banking |
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Most business in the country is conducted in English or French. But here's a guide* to the local language (called Luxembourgish, pronounced "Letz-e-bouy-ish").
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* using Google Translate. In no way should you see this as an actual guide