LONDON: JP Morgan could move more than 4,000 jobs out of Britain if Brexit talks result in a divergence of regulations and trade agreements between Britain and the EU, the US banking giant’s Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on Thursday.
“If they determine you can’t have reciprocal trade practices, reciprocal regulations ... It would be more than 4,000,” Dimon said in a BBC interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Dimon has wavered in the past over how many jobs JP Morgan would move, as his estimates take into account the changing prospects of Britain securing a deal that gives its financial firms continued access to European markets.
After saying in the aftermath of the June 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU that around 4,000 jobs would move, Dimon last April in a letter to shareholders said it would likely shift far fewer jobs to European financial hubs.
Dimon’s comments on Thursday that the total could end up being more than 4,000 staff represent his starkest assessment yet of the impact of a so-called ‘hard Brexit’ under which Britain loses access to the EU’s single market.
It is among the highest estimates by a single financial firm of the number of jobs it would move out of Britain.
Around 10,000 finance jobs will be shifted out of Britain or created overseas in the next few years if Britain is denied access to Europe’s single market, a Reuters survey in September of firms employing the bulk of workers in international finance found.
Brexit could mean JP Morgan moves more than 4,000 jobs from Britain
Brexit could mean JP Morgan moves more than 4,000 jobs from Britain
CEO of World Economic Forum quits after Epstein ties scrutinized
- Norwegian had been WEF president since 2017
- Brende has said he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal past
- WEF’s Alois Zwinggi will serve as interim president and CEO
ZURICH: The president and CEO of the World Economic Forum, Borge Brende, said he was stepping down on Thursday, a few weeks after the forum launched an independent investigation into his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Brende, who became president of the WEF in 2017, announced his decision in a statement following disclosures from the US Justice Department that showed the Norwegian had three business dinners with Epstein and had also communicated with the disgraced financier via email and text message.
“After careful consideration, I have decided to step down as President and CEO of the World Economic Forum. My time here, spanning 8-1/2 years, has been profoundly rewarding,” Brende said. The statement made no mention of Epstein.
“I am grateful for the incredible collaboration with my colleagues, partners, and constituents, and I believe now is the right moment for the Forum to continue its important work without distractions,” added Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister.
Brende has said he was unaware of Epstein’s past and criminal activities before first meeting him in 2018, and that he regretted not having investigated him more thoroughly.
Brende’s decision to quit follows a series of revelations relating to Epstein, who in 2008 was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. The revelations have roiled business and political elites, and even the British royal family.
Independent review
In a separate statement, Andre Hoffmann and Larry Fink, co-chairs of the Geneva-based forum that organizes the annual Davos summit, said the independent review conducted by outside counsel into Brende’s ties with Epstein had concluded.
The findings stated there were no additional concerns beyond what has been previously disclosed, it added.
The co-chairs said the WEF’s Alois Zwinggi will serve as interim president and CEO, and that the forum’s Board of Trustees will oversee the leadership transition, including a plan to drive a process to identify a permanent successor.
The US Justice Department has released more than 3 million pages of documents relating to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
His ties to a long list of business and political leaders, including US President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are under close scrutiny.
Overseas, the revelations have prompted criminal investigations of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, and other prominent figures.
