Barclays Bank is considering moving its EU headquarters to Dublin after Brexit, according to news reports.
Bloomberg reported that the bank was preparing to move 150 staff from London to the Irish capital in expectation of a ‘hard Brexit’. Barclays’ Dublin unit is currently home to 100 employees.
Last month, British prime minister Theresa May announced that the UK would leave the single market, a prospect which could see financial services businesses lose EU passporting rights.
In a statement to Leasing Life, Barclays admitted that they were looking into office space in Dublin, and looking to develop ‘greater capacity’.
A Barclays spokesperson said: “We have made clear repeatedly that we will plan for a range of Brexit contingencies, including building greater capacity into our existing operations in Dublin.
“Identifying available office space is a necessary and predictable part of that contingency planning process.”
Barclays declined to comment on how this would affect its asset finance and commercial banking operations.
