BNP Paribas to move 400 jobs to Europe due to Brexit

PARIS (Reuters) – French bank BNP Paribas said on Friday it was creating 400 jobs in continental Europe due to Britain’s exit from the European Union, and that it has taken all measures required by regulators to continue to operate in the United Kingdom.

Britain’s vote to leave the EU has forced banks to examine where to base their operations, given that the system of unfettered market access they have enjoyed on both sides of the English Channel, known as passporting, will end.

A Brexit transition period runs out at the end of the year, and details of the future relationship between Britain and EU have not yet been agreed.

“Selling financial services from the UK to EU clients will not be allowed,” the bank said in a press release while reporting quarterly results. “In the UK, the front office roles, mainly sales positions, and their associated set-up positions are impacted by these measures”.

BNP said some 400 new positions were being created in Europe, of which 160 were in the front office and 240 in support functions. As of the end-June, 260 of those positions have been taken up, it added.

It did not give details of where those new positions were based, or mention any corresponding job losses in London.

“The group is already prepared for the end of the Brexit transition period in December 2020,” it said.

(Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Alex Richardson)