There have been some big-name moves from the UK to continental Europe ahead of a possible no-deal Brexit , and now some companies are shifting the roles of London-based personnel to reflect those changes.
According to eFinancial Careers, American investment banking giant JP Morgan has named Kate Allegue-Haywood as Head of Communications for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
It is unclear as to whether or not Allegue-Haywood, who was previously an Executive Director in JP Morgan's Media Relations team, will be moving to the investment bank's Frankfurt office.
Also making changes to its German operations is Morgan Stanley. The American investment bank has managed to snag one of JP Morgan's old media executives for its Frankfurt operations.
Andrea Amereller joins the firm after almost five years with JP Morgan. As she is already based in Frankfurt, she will not have to move from the rainy streets of London to the Mercedes covered Autobahns of Germany.
Material change
Such moves would generally elicit little interest amongst both us hacks and you readers.
But in this instance, things are slightly different.
The two appointments indicate that major financial firms, which have previously made their home in the City of London, are making material changes to their businesses.
As all our readers will know, the reason for those changes is Brexit. With a no-deal scenario fast approaching, firms are no longer willing to wait around and see what happens. They're acting now.
Having said this, there is reason to believe that things will be okay for the financial services industry in the UK post-Brexit, deal or no deal.
This week, the European Securities and Markets Authority announced that three major firms in the UK would be able to continue providing Clearing services to clients in the European Union - even if Britain does leave the political body without a deal.
