The U.K. will in all likelihood leave the EU in spring of 2019 – if all goes according to plan. UBS however has already set the adjustments to the organization in motion. The first bankers are departing for Frankfurt.
Sergio Ermotti, the CEO of UBS, isn’t optimistic about the outcome of the Brexit business in the U.K. He expects a so-called hard exit, a break with the trading bloc without a properly negotiated deal, he said a while ago.
Based on the hard scenario, the management of Switzerland’s largest bank decided to make Frankfurt its hub for the business in the EU.
From London to Frankfurt
The first indication of matters to come are now shaping up, according to a report by the «Financial News» (behind paywall). The bank is merging the U.K. branch with its bank for Europe based in Frankfurt – UBS Europe – according to a letter sent to staff in London. The bank will conclude the transaction by the first quarter 2019.
In a first step, the bank will move some 64 investment bankers and back-office staff to Germany. The first wave of the relocations may end up including as many as 150 UBS staff, the news outlet said.
Take It or Leave It
Many of those will get new desks in Frankfurt. UBS SE, the Frankfurt unit, plans to create 59 new jobs. The new members of staff will get contracts corresponding to German labor laws.
As some bankers used to the busy London live seem shy to take up the offer of a new job in Frankfurt, a much smaller city, UBS is said to apply a certain amount of pressure on its staff.
The staff that refuse to move will get different tasks at the bank, «Financial News» said. And those still not keen may end up looking for a new employer.
