The outgoing chief executive of HSBC, Stuart Gulliver and Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs said decisions need to be made quickly about Britain’s trading relationship with the European Union after it leaves the bloc.
The banks want Brexit transition agreements to be in place before the end of the year so uncertainty does not reduce UK investments.
Mr Gulliver said that HSBC’s international clients were “really keen” to hear the specific Brexit plans.
Mr Blankfein tweeted in October: “Just left Frankfurt. Great meetings, great weather, really enjoyed it.
“Good, because I’ll be spending a lot more time there.”
The financial industry appear to be in agreement the Government reach terms with EU by the end of the year so banks can make changes to their businesses after Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019.
Mr Gulliver said that a transition agreement needed to contain clarity about the UK’s future relationship with the remaining member countries of the EU.
He has said that he would wait as long as possible before he made a final decision about how many roles he would move to Paris.
HSBC’s director has announced that 1,000 roles could be moved abroad after Brexit.
Simon Morris, a financial services partner with CMS, a law firm, said to The Times: “Every substantial City firm is locked in discussions with its advisers planning for an unfavourable outcome, which means shifting business lines, people and jobs outside the UK.”
Deputy governor at the Bank of England, Sam Woods, has warned the Government it has until Christmas to agree a transition deal with the EU to prevent City firms moving jobs and businesses out of the UK.
Mr Woods said that City firms would activate their plans for a hard Brexit if there was no transition deal.
This comes as the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that EU-UK trade deals could take three more years.