Wall Street Giant Pulls Brexit U-Turn

Robbie Lawther

6 April 2017

appears to have made a u-turn on its Brexit stance, as chief executive Jamie Dimon softened the tone in his annual letter to shareholders, saying a hard divorce from the European Union “does not entail moving many people in the next two years”.

This announcement came days after this publication learned that some JP Morgan UK-based staff would have to relocate after the nation’s split from the bloc.

However, Dimon downplayed talk of excessive relocation from the UK in his annual letter to the firm's shareholders. Following Brexit, he expects “there will be constant pressure by the EU not to outsource services to the UK but to continue to move people and capabilities into EU subsidiaries”.

The US banking giant has several offices in the UK, with offices in Canary Wharf, London, and in Bournemouth, Dorset, where it is the largest private sector employer.

Wealth and asset management CEO Mary Erdoes and corporate and investment bank CEO Daniel Pinto last week said: “While our objective in the short term is to limit the number of staff moves, there will inevitably be some staff who will be asked to consider relocation."

But Dimon says Brexit could “lead the EU to focus on fixing its issues – immigration, bureaucracy, the ongoing loss of sovereign rights and labour inflexibility – and thereby pulling the EU and the monetary union closer together”.