The chief executives of HSBC and Societe Generale see no urgency to move employees from London following the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union.
HSBC’s Stuart Gulliver told Bloomberg it’s too early to tell which parts of his business will be affected by Brexit, so there will be no rush decision on London staffing.
Societe Generale will adapt “when the time comes,” Frederic Oudea said in BFM radio interview.
Perhaps more surprising: Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters said it’s even possible a Brexit deal wouldn’t impact the financial industry.
HSBC today removed a target of surpassing 10 percent return on equity by the end of 2017, citing economic and political uncertainties. Chairman Douglas Flint noted “exceptional volatility” after the referendum as his bank tried to reverse a stock slump by announcing a $2.5 billion share buyback.
London’s role as a financial hub still risks being undermined if the U.K. loses the right to sell its financial products and services freely around the EU, lobby group TheCityUK said on Wednesday.
European companies that have come to rely on banks in London to raise capital and for complex financial advice will also suffer if something approximating so-called passporting rights is not part of the Brexit deal, the group said.
Bespoke Investment Group calculates that 49 percent of U.S. companies that reported during the first half of the earnings season mentioned Brexit. Financials led the way with 71 percent of them discussing the vote, while energy and consumer staples made the fewest references to it.
Meanwhile, China is watching the decision to delay a joint nuclear power project as an early test of Prime Minister Theresa May’s commitment to a “golden era” of relations promised by her predecessor. – READ MORE
