Megabank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has chosen Amsterdam as its European Union investment banking base.
Bucking the trend of its fellow Japanese institutions Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's (MUFG) choice of Amsterdam is an unlikely choice. To date Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin have all been vying to woo the banks heading out of London post Brexit.
In July, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan's second and third biggest lenders, said they would set up subsidiaries in Frankfurt to continue businesses in the bloc after Brexit. Other Japanese firms such as Nomura and Daiwa also said they would move some European operations from London to Frankfurt to smooth over potential Brexit difficulties.
Largest Lender
At present the Japanese bank's European investment banking unit, MUFG Securities EMEA, has its head office in London with staff of about 600 people, MUFG is also Japan's largest lender with $2.8 trillion in assets. The bank confirmed the move on its website.
Global banks have said they could move thousands of jobs out of Britain to prepare for Brexit, the country's planned exit from the European Union in 2019. Amsterdam has already attracted financial market platforms looking for a post-Brexit base in Europe, with both Tradeweb and MarketAxess saying they would move to the city.
