Citigroup Shrugs Off Brexit, Chooses London For Innovation Lab

Robbie Lawther

13 February 2018

US banking giant , which has a private banking segment, will set up an innovation centre in London, according to the Financial Times.

It will be one of the first investments by a big US bank since the UK voted to leave the European Union.

According to the FT, Citi will initially hire 60 technologists for the centre. The centre in London will also house the EMEA unit of Citi ventures and employees from across the company's businesses, in a boost for UK's financial services sector ahead of Brexit.

This publication has contacted the firm for a comment, and will update in due course.

The report comes at a time when there is uncertainty for London’s financial services sector. The UK is set to re-start talks with the EU surrounding trade including a deal for the financial services industry.

Recently, European Commission officials rejected the City of London’s proposal to strike a post-Brexit free-trade deal on financial services.

About €6 trillion ($7.35 trillion), or 37 per cent, of Europe’s financial assets are managed in the UK capital, almost twice the amount of its nearest rival, Paris, according to Reuters.

Several firms have said they may downsize their UK-based operations, including Societe Generale and Deutsche Bank.

The issue surrounding Brexit is that no one knows what will happen in terms of the UK’s financial services sector. Recently, this publication reported on a couple of papers, one by EY and one by Robert Half Financial Services, which shone different lights on UK's post-Brexit future. Also in January, this publication reported on the controversial sector reports commissioned by the UK Government.