Japanese banks seek new home after Brexit

TOKYO (March 15): As Frankfurt, Paris and Dublin vie for financial jobs that may move from London after Brexit, two of Japan’s biggest banks have been quietly building their presence elsewhere: Amsterdam.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are bolstering their units in the Dutch city, where they both hold a banking license that enables them to serve clients throughout the European Union. They still need to choose a location for conducting securities business in the region should the UK’s exit make London a more difficult place to perform certain services for European customers, such as underwriting and derivatives.

Like their global peers, Japanese banks and brokerages employ thousands in London and are closely watching developments over the terms of Brexit to determine whether to move employees and where to station them. While the race among Europe’s financial capitals to lure jobs remains open, Amsterdam is appealing because of a relatively cheap supply of offices, moderate taxes and fluency in English -- even if an election on Wednesday could cloud the nation’s future.

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