Unicredit boss brands Brexit “much ado about nothing” and says London will retain standing as key financial hub
The boss of Italian bank Unicredit has deemed Brexit and its potential disruption to the capital’s ranking as a major financial hub “much ado about nothing”.
Jean Pierre Mustier, Unicredit’s chief executive told the Financial Times Banking Summit today that regulators are likely to find sensible solutions to any problems posed by Brexit, meaning there was unlikely to be a “big revolution” when it came to the setup of the continent’s banking. And London “will remain an important centre for expertise”, he added.
“Let’s just be calm,” Mustier said.
Read more: London retains crown as top spot for attracting business and talent
Much has been made about banks’ contingency plans and to what extent Britain’s departure from the bloc will prompt job moves from London to elsewhere in Europe.
Mustier’s perspective though, echoed comments made by the Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe.
Cunliffe said last month that while some job moves could well take place, the capital’s financial centre crown was unlikely to be displaced.
“It may be that some activities that are carried out in London have to move to the continent,” he told the Western Mail. “And maybe some activities carried out in London no longer become efficient, and rather than moving to the continent, they just go back to New York or somewhere else, or maybe they don’t happen at all.”
“But I don’t see London as a financial centre being replicated on the continent anytime soon as it takes an awful lot of critical mass of expertise and knowledge,” he added.
The Bank of England has though, estimated up to 75,000 job losses in the event that there is no deal between the UK and EU financial services sector.
The bank has been preparing for a possible “no deal” Brexit and has required firms to submit contingency plans for such a scenario.
This week, Britain’s major banks were given the thumbs up by the Bank of England’s annual stress tests, providing a relatively positive account of their resilience – even if faced with a difficult Brexit scenario.
Read more: London won’t be replicated as a financial centre, says BoE deputy governor