So UK-based financial services firms, especially those that have chosen London as their European headquarters precisely in order to secure access to the whole EU market from one location, are reviewing their options. Indeed, regulators are obliging them to do so, by asking how they will maintain continuity of service to their clients in the event of a “hard” Brexit. (May’s government prefers to talk of a “clean” Brexit, but that is semantics).
London-based financial firms are accustomed to being able to recruit from across the EU; indeed, the British authorities have been flexible on non-EU staff, too. Because most aspiring finance professionals in Europe can speak good English, firms have had a deep pool in which to fish. Whether that pool survives Brexit will turn out to be the biggest political question for the City of London in the coming negotiations. The next UK prime minister, who just might be May, will need to produce a good answer, or London will not remain at the top of the league for much longer.
