Bank of America extends lease on London headquarters for another 10 years in commitment to UK post-Brexit
Bank of America has extended the lease on its City headquarters by a decade in a sign the lender is committing to the UK with Brexit looming.
A spokesperson confirmed to City A.M. today that the bank had extended its lease by 10 years to 2032, with Britain set to leave the EU in 2019, though the government is negotiating a transition period to avoid a “cliff edge” Brexit.
Estimates of potential job moves as a result of Brexit have varied considerably, with a Brussels think tank estimating 10,000 UK banking positions could move to the EU, while a heavily-referenced October 2016 report from Oliver Wyman said as many as 75,000 job losses could occur in the worst case scenario, with no trade deal between the UK and the EU.
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Bloomberg, which first reported the Bank of America news, said another US firm, Northern Trust, was searching for a new London base after its current lease expires in 2022. A spokesperson told Bloomberg the capital will continue to be the company’s regional headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
A City of London official said last month that London financial services job losses could be lower than previously thought.
Financial services firms have been drawing up contingency plans, awaiting further clarity on what a post-Brexit Britain will look like and how its relationship with the EU will shape up.
But Jeremy Browne, the City of London Corporation’s envoy to the EU, said plans to move jobs out of the UK could end up “being a bit less dramatic than it might appear” with banks and insurers not saying they will abandon the capital.
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