Banks WON’T leave UK after Brexit – chiefs are ‘CRYING WOLF’ for BETTER DEAL, insiders say

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Banks will not leave London after Brexit, insiders have claimed

Foreign banks based in the capital have been accused of “crying wolf” by threatening to move their headquarters and jobs to continental Europe.

HSBC and UBS have already announced they will pull 2,000 jobs from the City but experts believe few others will follow suit.

Goldman Sachs today denied rumours they were moving their headquarters and staff to Germany, explaining the situation was still too uncertain to make a decision.

A spokesman said: “There remains some uncertainty as to what the Brexit negotiations will mean for the operational business of the banking industry.”

Theresa May is set to meet banking chiefs today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where she has already given a rallying speech promoting a “global” Brexit Britain which will put the needs UK residents at its heart.

City experts believe other banks are only threatening to leave in an attempt to secure better deals for themselves in post-Brexit Britain.

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Banks will remain in London despite warnings, experts claim

Ian Gordon, head of banks research at Investec, said: “We won’t see anything like this amount of sabre-rattling at other banks.

“I think it’s just crying wolf.”

Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon, added: “It’s all positioning, it’s all playing to the gallery.”

Brexit has had a far less severe impact on the British economy than was predicted before last summer’s in-out EU referendum.

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The British economy will continue ticking over after Brexit, said experts

Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, said this week: "The UK labour market continues to surprise with its resilience to the Brexit shock.

"This is yet more evidence that the labour market and the wider economy have fared better than expected since June’s referendum – something which is now being recognised by Mark Carney and his Bank of England colleagues.

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Goldman Sachs have denied reports they are pulling their London staff

"Interestingly wage growth ticked up slightly, from 2.6 per cent to 2.8 per cent.

"This is good news for households who are finding their budgets squeezed by higher inflation – and also good news for consumer spending and economic growth."

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