Which City Will Overtake London As Europe's Financial Hub After Brexit?

If and when the U.K. completes Brexit and leave the European Union in 2020, it will most likely take Europe’s biggest capital market — London — with it.

A growing list of European cities are battling to become the next big European financial hub.

PricewaterhouseCoopers warned in a report titled “Brexit: Be prepared for disruption” that Brexit will impact businesses globally.

While there is uncertainty around the final outcome of the process, there are a set of no-risk actions that can be taken now to ensure businesses are Brexit-ready, particularly if they are engaged in cross-border trade.

Which European Country Will Take Over?

Frankfurt, Germany is the home of the European Central Bank and a strong contender. The city is already considered the financial capital of the Eurozone. The ECB makes monetary policy decisions for an economic area that is home to around 330 million people and anchors the euro into the global financial system.

Paris, France is known for its cafe culture, Eiffel Tower, the Louvre museum and the Notre Dame Cathedral. The capital is also emerging as a closely favored financial trading hub in Europe.

A number of large banks and asset managers are steering their EU operations away from London to Paris. France has a number of huge banks such as BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole.

Amundi Asset management company is a French asset management company with 1.425 billion euros ($1.6 billion) of assets under management at the end of 2018; it is the largest asset manager in Europe and one of the top 10 biggest investment managers by AUM in the world. 

Dublin, Ireland is known for its lush green fields, Guinness beer and Irish whiskey, and it's also been attracting huge amounts of business.

Andrew O'Callaghan, PwC global asset and wealth management advisory leader and partner at PwC Ireland said that with "over 100 new asset managers already having relocated to Ireland over the last 18 months, Ireland has a clear opportunity to be a leading centre for high value funds and FinTech activity in a post-Brexit world.”

The country is English-speaking and has a highly skilled workforce and ease of access to over 400 million EU consumers, O'Callaghan said. 

Amsterdam, Netherlands is known for its canals, beautiful houses, marijuana coffee shops and red light district. It's emerging as one of the beneficiaries of Brexit strategies as a number of banks transition and search for a new base to access the EU.

ING Bank which was established in 1927, the co-operative Rabobank and ABN AMRO Bank NV are among Amsterdam's financial institutions. 

These are only a few of the contenders. Europe has a number of vibrant cities that are showing huge potential to attract business in a post-Brexit environment such as Brussels in Belgium, Milan in Italy and Madrid in Spain.

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