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Banche snobbano Parigi e Francoforte: meglio Amsterdam

Questa notizia è stata scritta più di un anno fa old news

Le banche giapponesi, in cerca di nuova sede in Europa per via della Brexit, snobbano Francoforte e Parigi e optano per Amsterdam. Lo riporta l’agenzia Bloomberg, anticipando che due tra i colossi della finanza nipponica, ovvero Mitsubishi e Mizuho  stanno cercando”casa” nella capitale olandese.

Ora che la Brexit sta entrando nel vivo, sono sempre più numerose le banche con sede a Londra in cerca di una nuova sede. Le stime sul numero di posti che andranno persi nella capitale britannica sono alquanto diverse. Si va da un minimo di 4 mila posti fino a più di 200 mila.

Two years of separation talks between the U.K. and the EU are set to begin as soon as this month after Prime Minister Theresa May this week secured parliament’s approval to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Terms of the divorce will dictate how many banking jobs move, with forecasts ranging wildly from more than 200,000 to as few as 4,000.

MUFG, Mizuho and rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. employ about 6,800 people in Europe. About 4,500 of them are stationed in London, which is their base for Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

 

Like their global peers, Japanese banks and brokerages employ thousands in London and are closely watching developments over the terms of Brexit to determine whether to move employees and where to station them. While the race among Europe’s financial capitals to lure jobs remains open, Amsterdam is appealing because of a relatively cheap supply of offices, moderate taxes and fluency in English — even if an election on Wednesday could cloud the nation’s future.

“There’s enough space for the foreseeable future and the language and quality of living are probably supportive,” said Robin Van Den Broek, a bank analyst at Mediobanca SpA in London. Even if the anti-European party led by Geert Wilders wins seats, it won’t find coalition partners willing to form a government, he said.

MUFG, Japan’s biggest bank, sought to build its Amsterdam offices even before Brexit became a reality because it wanted the city to serve as a hub for operations on the European continent. Three of the lender’s European offices started reporting to Amsterdam last year and it plans to do the same for eight more including Germany, Spain and Portugal in the year starting April 1, Naoki Mizoguchi, Tokyo-based chief manager of the global planning division, said in an interview.

Mizuho changed the name of its Netherlands unit to Mizuho Bank Europe on Jan. 1, reflecting its role as a subsidiary overseeing a number of countries in the region. The Amsterdam-based entity manages European operations including Belgium, Austria and Spain.

Japan’s second-largest lender by assets is considering Amsterdam and Dublin among potential locations to base its brokerage unit if it’s impacted by a “heavy Brexit,” Mizuho President Yasuhiro Sato said in an interview in January.

“We’ll have to build the structures that enable us to pursue our strategy,” whether it be in the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany or France, said Kenjiro Oishi, a senior manager in the global corporate coordination department. “It’s natural for these countries to be on the list,” he said, adding that Mizuho will decide on a general direction as soon as this month.

Two years of separation talks between the U.K. and the EU are set to begin as soon as this month after Prime Minister Theresa May this week secured parliament’s approval to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Terms of the divorce will dictate how many banking jobs move, with forecasts ranging wildly from more than 200,000 to as few as 4,000.

MUFG, Mizuho and rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. employ about 6,800 people in Europe. About 4,500 of them are stationed in London, which is their base for Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Sumitomo Mitsui, which is yet to obtain a European banking license outside of the U.K., is considering “all possibilities,” including establishing a unit in Europe, Takeshi Kunibe, chief executive officer of the lending unit, said in January. The bank is committed to business in Europe, where it’s been making acquisitions to boost asset returns, including the purchase of a Dublin-based aircraft-leasing company, said Kenichiro Mori, head of strategic planning.