LONDON: Lloyds Banking Group plans to operate three subsidiaries in continental Europe after Britain leaves the EU, according to a source familiar with the matter, in a sign of how Brexit is fragmenting a banking industry long concentrated in London.
Lloyds, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, was widely expected to manage its continental business from one new subsidiary in Berlin. But executives now plan two further hubs to service customers across the European Union, the source said. One is likely to be in Frankfurt and the location of the second is yet to be confirmed, the person said.
The plans by Lloyds — an institution more than 250 years old that has always concentrated its operations in Britain — shows how Brexit is forcing banks to upend history and business models to guarantee they can continue selling their products in Europe.
They are part of a wider trend that is seeing lenders distribute their post-Brexit resources among a number of cities on the continent rather than basing the bulk of operations in one place as they have for decades in London. Swiss bank UBS said in March it would pursue a “decentralised” model, in line with moves by Goldman Sachs , Bank of America and JPMorgan.
Earlier this year, separate sources said that Lloyds would house its main European subsidiary in Berlin, after converting an existing Bank of Scotland branch that Lloyds inherited following the HBOS takeover a decade ago. — Reuters
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