City flitters: 7,000 jobs leave London's Square Mile after Brexit

Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris are vying for a share of the financial services markets once dominated by London.

Transcript

00:00 The financial districts of London to a large extent carry the fortunes of the UK economy.

00:06 The forecast was for an exodus of jobs post Brexit, but the most pessimistic anticipated

00:12 job losses of more than 250,000 within UK financial services did not materialise. The

00:19 latest figures of staff relocations stand at around 7,000 people. However, data from

00:24 the Global Financial Centres Index underscores a significant shift, with cities like Paris,

00:30 Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Munich registering notable jumps.

00:35 London's still seen as a global financial player, but it isn't necessarily seen as the

00:40 single European financial services centre, and I think that is what has changed as a

00:45 result of Brexit. Now people think it's not just London that's a European financial centre,

00:51 it is other places, it could be Paris, it could be Amsterdam, it could be Dublin.

00:55 Using incentives to encourage investment, European cities like Dublin are stepping into

01:00 the spotlight as new centres for banking.

01:03 The evidence shows that what was once predicted as a mass exodus of city bankers from London

01:09 has in fact transpired as a strategic recalibration of resources around European banking hubs

01:17 to rival the City of London.

01:20 Peter Lawler is the former chief economist at the German Stock Exchange. He believes

01:24 European centres like Frankfurt have been a step ahead of London, but that it's too

01:29 early to know what the long-term impact of Brexit on financial services is going to be.

01:35 I don't think the strategic thinking was properly done in the UK. Of course, Paris

01:41 is very keen, Frankfurt is very keen, you know about the various incentives that were

01:46 put forward in various European cities. But all that said, where are we going to end up

01:53 ultimately, whatever ultimately may mean, it's too soon to say.

01:59 A recalibration of power, but the story of Brexit's impact on finance in Europe is

02:04 far from over. Luke Hanrahan, Euronews, London.

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