UBS Considering Relocation Of Base To Frankfurt Post Brexit

UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) is mulling over shifting its trading headquarters from London to Frankfurt inside the European Union (EU), post Brexit, as per a Bloomberg report.

UBS plans to relocate around 250 employees from London to Frankfurt. Though nothing has been finalized yet, talks are on. According to people familiar with the matter, the bank, which currently employs 4800 people worldwide, informed the German regulator about the rise in business in Frankfurt. However, UBS is yet to confirm the same.

Post Brexit, Britain is likely to lose the “passporting rights,” which enable international banks to open branches and conduct business easily in any part of the European territory after the initial process of registration is over. Hence, UBS plans to pick Frankfurt as its new hub. However, other prospective locations like Amsterdam and Madrid are also being considered. The final decision will likely be taken by the end of summer.

Frankfurt has been a popular choice among banks since the announcement of Brexit. All major banks like Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) PLC (OTC:SCBFF) , Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Nomura Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:NMR) have chosen the city as the next financial hub inside the EU.

UBS has been putting in diligent efforts to reduce its cost by CHF 2.1 billion, by the end of 2017. Notably, during the first six months of 2017, the company was successful in slashing expenses. Gradual cost reduction will boost its bottom-line growth.

Shares of UBS have gained 3.1% over the last six months compared to the industry’s growth of 4.6%.

Currently, the bank carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

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UBS AG (UBS): Free Stock Analysis Report

Standard Chartered PLC (SCBFF): Free Stock Analysis Report

Nomura Holdings Inc ADR (NMR): Free Stock Analysis Report

Morgan Stanley (MS): Free Stock Analysis Report

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