Goldman to double Frankfurt staff on Brexit, Europe head says

[DUSSELDORF] Goldman Sachs Group Inc is shifting personnel away from London as formal negotiations on the UK's exit from the European Union are scheduled to begin Monday, according to the bank's regional head, Richard Gnodde.

"We started to shift resources to Frankfurt and other European cities," Mr Gnodde told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview. Goldman Sachs will "very probably" at least double staff numbers in the German city, where it currently employs 200, he said. Frankfurt has an advantage over rivals in Europe, including Paris and Dublin, because the European Central Bank is based in the city, Mr Gnodde said.

Goldman Sachs is scouting for office space in Frankfurt that could serve as its new trading hub inside the European Union and plans to take more space in the building it currently occupies to begin with, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.

Britain's decision to quit the EU has prompted global banks to establish new bases inside the bloc to secure continued access to clients in the region. Goldman Sachs is considering moving as many as 1,000 employees to Frankfurt, a person familiar with the plans said earlier this year, with the UK capital set to lose as many as 30,000 financial services jobs after Brexit, according to the Bruegel think tank.

It would be an advantage for the finance industry to concentrate on a few centres to attract the best talent and to guarantee economies of scale and efficiency, Mr Gnodde said.

BLOOMBERG