The city of Paris should be “one of the great beneficiaries of Brexit,” says Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan US Bank, in an interview published Thursday in Les Echos. “Paris will be a major beneficiary of Brexit whatever happens,” he says.
“For the first day of Brexit, JPMorgan will move several hundred people to mainland Europe and will hire more. And our subsidiary in Paris will have its share,” Jamie Dimon insists. “The French authorities have been very effective in attracting people, as the Germans, by the way.”
The UK will leave the EU, its single market and customs union on March 29 2019. But Michel Barnier, the European negotiator, said Wednesday that the advances toward an agreement with London on this Brexit were insufficient.
Asked by Les Echos about the effects of a “hard Brexit,” without an agreement with the EU, Jamie Dimon acknowledges that “it could be a severe blow to the City over time,” while saying he expects an “agreement in principle on the Brexit this month.”
“Details will be crucial, and could prove painful. We are preparing for any eventuality,” he warns again.
Jamie Dimon mentions in particular the question of the location of digital data centers. “Brussels might want all data centers to be located within the EU. This would have a direct impact on business and employees. Many people might have to move, far beyond the banking sector and JPMorgan.”
The Brussels Times
