T
he uncertainty over Brexit has led around 100 financial services companies to relocate
from London to Paris, with some setting up new headquarters there and others setting up satellite offices initially. The movers include asset manager, insurance companies and banks. Paris has ambitions to become
the leading financial centre in Europe after Brexit. While around 250,000 people work in the financial services sector in the UK, Paris has around 180,000 employees in the sector, according to Paris Europlace, the organisation that promotes the financial sector in Paris. This puts the French capital in pole position in Europe, ahead of rivals such as Frankfurt or Dublin.
RELOCATION AMBITIONS The European Banking Authority (EBA), which is a regulatory agency of the European Union, has been based in London since 2011 but has now relocated to Paris, with 250 employees moving as a result. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), an independent EU authority set up to provide investor protection, is already based in Paris, as is Finance Innovation, which fosters and supports the growing FinTech industries. Goldman Sachs is already
working on a Paris-based equity trading platform, while asset manager BlackRock has been building up its Paris operations for the past two years. Other companies are expected to follow suit amid concerns over how financial services companies will be able to operate
16
of the Brexit agreement are not sorted out. Estimates of the jobs created
in Paris as a result of Brexit range from 4,000 new direct jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs, according to Paris Europlace.
THE APPEAL OF PARIS AS A PLACE FOR WORK, CULTURE AND EDUCATION Benjamin Hunter, Head of School at Ermitage International School of France, which is based 15 km outside Paris, says the school has a number of families who work in the finance sector. “Not only is Paris an ideal
location for them, with a recent article in Le Figaro explaining how France has been better for companies during the pandemic,” he explains. “Maisons Laffitte, where Ermitage is located, is 15 minute direct train ride to the Financial heart of France, La Défense. Many families relocate to Maisons Laffitte to have dual access: a quality international school in a safe and less urban environment and easy access to Paris and the financial hub, La Défense.” He says that while it is difficult
to measure the true impacts of Brexit on our families, as a school community there has not been much of an impact. “We have had increased interest
if key parts
in applications from the UK, with many families maintaining interest but in a holding pattern waiting for the official Brexit deadline to see what happens,” he says. “We have not seen a departure of families rushing back to the UK.” One of the advantages for globally mobile families of
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