Banks don’t want to leave London post-Brexit, says City watchdog boss
A mass exodus of bankers post-Brexit is unlikely, as many institutions simply don't want to leave London, the head of the City watchdog has said.
There has been some concern banks may look to move out of the capital following the June's vote to leave the European Union, particularly if the UK fails to secure passporting rights as part of the Brexit deal.
However, in an interview published in the Sunday Times today, Andrew Bailey, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief executive, has revealed, while he thinks some banks might move some of their operations out of the UK, many simply don't have the heart to leave.
Read more: How the UK could be sleepwalking into another financial crisis
"If they did [want to leave London], they would have gone," Bailey said. "If they want to go, they can go, obviously. Something has to push them out and that could happen, quite clearly.
"No, what would it mean at that point? My view would be, probably, they would prefer to have as little pushed out as possible. So quite logically they would look at operating models that would achieve this."
However, the watchdog chief also said he thought the big lenders would be looking at their options carefully in case of a hard Brexit.
"It would be pretty strange for arch contingency planners like us to say, 'Don't do that,'" Bailey said.
Bailey's organisation has recently come under fire in a report from New City Agenda, which slammed the regulator for cultivating a culture of box-ticking and excessive red tape.
Read more: Why Brexit will force British banks to think on their feet
"To my mind that was a pretty backward-looking report," Bailey told the Sunday Times. He has also previously told a press conference that he felt the report was "pretty disappointing" and, in at least one place, "just downright offensive".
The agency has also recently published its mission statement, a 50-page document designed to hone the focus of the watchdog's work for the foreseeable future.
The financial sector is becoming increasingly wary the UK government will plump for a so-called hard Brexit. A report released by TheCityUK earlier this month revealed that as many as 75,000 jobs would be on the line if the UK did go down the hard Brexit route.