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The proportion which are publicly hoping to retain passporting increases to 80 per cent among major investment banks. Meanwhile, three-quarters of the investment banks which have spoken out about passporting have also warned they might need to relocate or review their opertations if the rights cannot be secured in the Brexit negotiations.
"The message from the investment banking community – particularly from the large global and European institutions – is clear: access to the single market and the passporting of products and services will be fundamental to their decision making regarding their ongoing presence, scale and investment in the UK," said Omar Ali, UK financial services leader at EY.
However, the situation is not quite so clear cut among fintech firms. Of the 28 firms monitored by EY, nine have spoken out about what they want government to prioritise in the Brexit negotiations. Of those, seven have spoken of the important of freedom of movement, but just six have stressed the importance of passporting.
"Fintech firms rely on access to skilled labour – this was already top of their concerns when we did the study of the UK fintech market for the Treasury, well before the referendum," Ali added. "The good news is that Brexit could actually help them get greater access to talent if people are treated equally irrespective of which country they come from. [...]