Lloyds 'chooses Berlin' as base for its European hub post-Brexit

Lloyds has almost all of its assets in Britain and is also the only major British retail lender without a subsidiary in another EU country, according to Reuters: Reuters

Lloyds Banking Group has reportedly chosen the German capital as the location for its European hub after the UK leaves the EU.

According to several media reports, the bank has decided to convert its Berlin branch into an official subsidiary of the main company, to enable the lender to continue to be able to provide clients with all its services after the split.

The Telegraph reported that Lloyds hopes to submit an application to German financial regulator BaFin to change the status of the Berlin branch by the end of September.

The bank considered several cities for the location of its EU base, including Amsterdam and Dublin, but Berlin proved the most appropriate because it is already home to Lloyds’ biggest European operations, employing around 300 staff, according to the paper.

Lloyds declined to comment on the reports when contacted by The Independent.

Major financial institutions, insurers and asset management companies with significant operations in the UK have for months been weighing up the impact that Brexit might have on their business and assessing how they might have to change their set-ups to continue to cater to clients’ needs.

Lloyds has almost all of its assets in Britain and is also the only major British retail lender without a subsidiary in another EU country, according to Reuters.

Last month insurance market Lloyd's of London confirmed that it would be setting up a new insurance company in Brussels, to secure a European foothold after Brexit.

Inga Beale, its chief executive, at the time said that the intention is for the company to be ready to operate on 1 January 2019.

Also in March, Goldman Sachs’ Europe chief executive, Richard Gnodde, said that the US bank would relocate hundreds of staff out of London before any Brexit deal is struck as part of its contingency plans for the UK leaving the EU. The company employs around 6,000 people in London.

The chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, Xavier Rolet, warned earlier this year that Brexit poses a risk to the global financial system and could cost the City of London up to 230,000 jobs if the Government fails to provide a clear plan for post-Brexit operations.