LONDON - Along with banks that have signaled they will be moving jobs abroad, Brexit will probably see the European Banking Authority leave London -- and rival cities are jockeying to be its next host.
The London headquarters of the European Union's financial regulator, in the Canary Wharf district, has 170 staff members from 27 of the 28 European Union nations.
Brexit is "a major talking point among the staff", executive director Adam Farkas told AFP, as Prime Minister Theresa May prepares to take the historic step of launching the exit process this week.
"The outcome of the referendum, which will likely lead to a removal of the EBA from London, is having a major impact," said Farkas, 49, a Hungarian who has headed the EBA since 2011.
Britons voted in June to quit the EU bloc in a referendum that sent shockwaves across the globe and prompted several banks to announce plans to move jobs from London to continental Europe.
Media reports suggest that cities including Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris and Vienna could be trying to woo the EBA away. (AFP)