By Iain Withers
LONDON (Reuters) – British bank Barclays is weighing up whether to move its continental Europe headquarters from Dublin to Paris, in a potential further boon for the French capital as it seeks to expand as a global financial centre after Brexit.
Barclays said in an interim earnings filing for its Barclays Bank Ireland business – known internally as Barclays Europe -that it was exploring switching its European Union headquarters in order to “be closer to the balance of operations” of the division on the continent.
Paris has emerged as one of the biggest winners since Britain’s decision to leave the European Union shook up power dynamics in financial services globally, and ended the City of London’s unfettered access to the bloc, forcing banks to open hubs in the EU to maintain services.
France’s central bank said last month it had exceeded its expectations in attracting banks post-Brexit and this had been reflected in a boost to the country’s balance of payments.
Any potential move by Barclays would result in a “small number of roles” moving to Paris, the document said, adding initial engagement with regulators and other stakeholders was underway.
The relocation could take up to two years and would not involve any migration of clients, the report said. It would also not impact the group’s UK activities, it added, where the bank’s global headquarters are in London.
(Reporting by Iain Withers, additional reporting by Huw Jones, Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
