Bundesbank’s Weidmann: Hard Brexit will cost London its hub status – Guardian

In an interview with the Guardian, the German central bank president and ECB governing council member Jens Weidmann warned that London will lose its financial hub status if the UK left the single-market in wake of the Brexit vote.

Key Quotes:

“Passporting rights are tied to the single market and would automatically cease to apply if Great Britain is no longer at least part of the European Economic Area” (EEA).

“Of course several businesses will reconsider the location of their headquarters. As a significant financial centre and the seat of important regulatory and supervisory bodies, Frankfurt is attractive and will welcome newcomers. But I don’t expect a mass exodus from London to Frankfurt.”

 “Britain hasn’t even applied to leave yet.” 

“To assume on the basis of the developments so far that there won’t be any negative consequences would be to draw false conclusions. Great Britain is very closely tied to the EU and Germany. If you reduce these relations to that of a third country, it will suppress economic growth in Britain.”

“For many of its citizens, Europe has indeed lost its shine and become a projection screen for the downsides of globalisation and migration. Likewise, the usual instincts of the EU institutions to answer crises with “more Brussels”, more integration, no longer resonates with the public. Integration cannot be an end in itself, it has to make sense.”