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Should the UK lose easy access to the EU market, a likely outcome considering Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision last week to pursue a clean break with the EU, London-based firms will increasingly look to relocate their European headquarters. Such is the case for Barclays.
The bank said it plans to make Dublin its HQ, adding around 150 staff in the city and has already started looking for office space, Bloomberg reports. Financial firms are worried Brexit will lead to a “cliff edge,” where all access to the EU is abruptly cut off in two years, so many are moving to set up shop elsewhere in Europe.
Credit Suisse Group AG chose Dublin over London as its primary hub for servicing European hedge funds last year, and Standard Chartered Plc and Citigroup are considering following suit. [Bloomberg]
