Frankfurt, Paris to get most Goldman Brexit jobs

Frankfurt and Paris are expected to gain the most jobs from Goldman Sachs as it transfers staff out of London due to Brexit, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Paris, Frankfurt and other European cities have been on a charm offensive with global financial giants since the June 2016 Brexit vote, eyeing the additional that jobs will serve European Union clients once Britain leaves the bloc.

Frankfurt, home to the European Central Bank, already has claimed some major financial players, including US companies Citigroup and Morgan Stanley and Japanese giants Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Daiwa Securities and Nomura.

US giants JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have named Dublin as their new post-Brexit EU headquarters, while transferring some other posts to Paris.

Goldman Sachs, which employs 6,000 people in Britain, has refrained from offering specifics on its post-Brexit structure or staffing, saying only that it planned to shift hundreds of jobs to the continent but without saying where.

Frankfurt and Paris are expected to be "the main beneficiaries" of the shifting Goldman jobs, the person familiar with the matter told AFP.

But even with the changes, Goldman is expected to keep a large presence in Britain after Brexit.

Paris' prospects seemed to rise Tuesday after Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein effusively praised the French capital on Twitter.

"Struck by the positive energy here in Paris," Blankfein tweeted. "Strong govt and biz leaders are committed to economic reform and are well thru the first steps. And the food's good too!"

The tweet recalled the Goldman chief's praise of German financial hub Frankfurt on October 19, which he touted for its "great" weather, among other attributes.

"Good because I'll be spending a lot more time there. #Brexit" Blankfein said of the German city.

Blankfein also has taken to Twitter to rue the uncertainty in London, where Prime Minister Theresa May's government faces a murky path to trying to effect the divorce from the EU on advantageous terms for the country.

Blankfein on October 30 posted a photograph of Goldman's partly built office in London.

"In London, GS still investing in our big new Euro headquarters here," Blankfein said on Twitter. "Expecting/hoping to fill it up, but so much outside our control.

Source: AFP