Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) is planning to hire 200 new traders in Paris in a fresh blow to the Square Mile in the wake of Brexit.
The high street lender said it expects to boost its workforce in the French capital by around two-thirds over the next two to three years as it increasingly becomes Europe’s main business centre.
Barclays Europe chief executive Francesco Cecato said he believed the bank could generate enough business to add around 200 more employees in Paris from 2025 to 2026, up from the current level of 300.
Cecato told Bloomberg: “The need for trader hiring on the continent is clear. Europe needs to develop its capital markets to reduce dependence on banks, so we have the opportunity to grow over the next few years.”
"In the US, we would not be surprised if there are around 500 people working for Barclays in Paris," he said.
It comes after the European Central Bank told lenders they will have to base staff in the EU if they are responsible for significant trading activity on the continent after Britain leaves the bloc .
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) moved into a new 9,000-square-metre Paris headquarters last year, having more than doubled its workforce in the country in recent years.
The debate over Brexit continues to hit the headlines. On Wednesday, carmaker Stellantis warned it may be forced to close its Ellesmere Port factory unless ministers manage to renegotiate a key part of the UK’s Brexit deal with the EU.
Electric vans made at the Cheshire site by the Vauxhall owner will face tariffs of 10% when exported to mainland Europe from next year because they will not contain enough locally sourced parts, the company said.
Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the industry body SMMT, explained: "The rules of origin for batteries pose a significant challenge to manufacturers on both sides of the Channel, with the prospect of tariffs and price increases which discourage consumers from buying the very vehicles needed to achieve climate change goals.
The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News the UK needs an "improved" Brexit deal and that his party would seek "a better deal than the one that we've got' to bolster the country's trading relationship with the EU.