LONDON — Leading bankers sought Tuesday to downplay the immediate impact of Brexit on London’s role as the hub of the financial services industry in Europe and on jobs. “Uncertainty makes everyone very uncomfortable so from the staff’s standpoint they really want to know where they stand,” he said. It can boast of the use of English, the world’s main business language, as well as long-standing legal norms, a skilled and experienced financial industry labor force, and a web of support services. Whatever Brexit deal may eventually be struck, it seems likely that U.K.-based financial firms will lose their so-called “passporting rights” that give them automatic right to operate across the 27 other EU countries. “There’s certainly an asymmetry at the moment, and it would be welcome if the asymmetry became a symmetry,” he said.

Source: Washington Post September 11, 2018 12:36 UTC