Bank of America completes move to Dublin

The Bank of America (NYSE: BAC-B) has completed its move to a new base in Dublin.

Prompted by Brexit, the lender completed the move after receiving all necessary regulatory and court approvals.

“We are pleased to have worked closely and constructively with our regulators to complete this critical component of our Brexit preparations exactly on schedule and well ahead of the earliest possible date of the UK’s exit from the EU,” said Anne Finucane, the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Europe chair.

EU operations will now take place in Dublin as Brexit uncertainty still hangs over London and whether operations in the capital can still server European clients.

Around 80% of the 125 jobs based in the London branch will be relocated to Dublin, whilst the remaining jobs will be scattered across Europe.

The new base is headed by the chief executive Bruce Thompson.

“After many months of preparation and having just completed our cross-border merger, we now stand ready to serve our clients seamlessly in their final preparations for Brexit and for the long-term,” he said.

The Bank of America was the first lender to share concrete plans to move operations from London after the 2016 Brexit referendum. Other banks that are moving from London to other European locations include Barclays (LON: BARC), JP Morgan (LON: JMC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Citigroup (NYSE: C).

Barclays will be expanding operations in Dublin and also move jobs to Frankfurt.

“Barclays Bank Ireland, which has a banking licence and which we have operated for almost 40 years, provides a natural base and we are engaging with our regulators in discussions to extend its activities,” the bank said in a statement at the time.

“While we remain confident of continued deep inter-linkages between EU and UK financial services markets, in the absence of certainty around the timing and composition of an agreement, we intend to take necessary steps to preserve ongoing market access for our customers.”