JP Morgan ‘to move €200bn assets from the UK to Germany’ due to Brexit
JP Morgan Chase & Co is reportedly set to move €200bn (£184bn) assets from the UK to Germany as a result of Brexit.
The US banking giant plans to finish the migration of the assets to a Frankfurt-based subsidiary by the end of this year, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The shift would make JP Morgan Germany’s sixth largest lender, based on reported assets of the country’s largest banks last year.
A JP Morgan spokesperson declined to comment on the reports.
The reported shift in asset allocation comes as the threat of a no-deal Brexit looms over international banks.
With the post-Brexit transition period set to expire in less than four months, lenders are moving to boost their operations in Europe to ensure they can continue to operate if UK-based firms do not retain passporting rights to operate in the EU.
While other banks including UBS, Standard Chartered and Citi have already moved to strengthen their operations in Frankfurt, JP Morgan’s plans would represent the biggest shift any lender has made to Germany’s financial hub.
Last week JP Morgan told around 200 of its UK-based staff to plan to move out of London because it sees little hope of the UK reaching a deal on financial services with the bloc.
Employees were told to move to European cities including Frankfurt, Paris, Milan and Madrid, Bloomberg reported.
The bank has previously spoken of plans for its German unit, JP Morgan AG, to seek out market shares in investment and corporate banking, as well as wealth management.
The unit has indicated plans to triple its equity core equity by the end of 2020 to €16.7bn.