FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Banks are expected to transfer 750-800 billion euros (664-709 billion pounds) in assets to Frankfurt due to Britain’s departure from the European Union, the city’s lobby group Frankfurt Main Finance (FMF) said on Thursday.
The bulk of the relocation of assets will occur in the first quarter of 2019, FMF managing director Hubertus Vaeth said in a statement, adding that more was to follow later.
“As long as uncertainty persists most financial institutions prefer minimum solutions,” he added.
Currently, banks based in Frankfurt have total assets of 3.5 trillion euros.
Of 37 financial institutions that have applied for new or more comprehensive bank licences with the European Central Bank, 30 have picked Frankfurt as their European headquarters, Vaeth said.
Roughly half a dozen banks which have picked a different hub on the continent are also increasing their Frankfurt footprint, he added.
Vaeth still expects 10,000 new jobs to be created in Frankfurt due to Brexit, adding that the increase will occur more slowly than originally anticipated.
That target will likely be reached within eight years after the 2016 referendum, and not five years as originally thought, he added.
(Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Michelle Martin)
