MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Four US leading banks commit continued support for London as global financial hub

The banks and Chancellor George Osborne said in a statement they would work to ensure London “retains its position”.

Four of the biggest US banks have committed to helping maintain London's position as a global financial hub after the UK leaves the European Union. Since the referendum vote there have been concerns that banks would reduce their staff and offices in the country.

 In a statement the banks and Chancellor George Osborne said they would work to ensure London “retains its position”. However, they did not say whether this meant that they would keep the same number of jobs and offices in the UK.

Ahead of the UK's referendum on the EU, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JP Morgan, said the bank could move 4,000 jobs out of the UK if the country voted to leave the EU.

The banks signing the statement included JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, as well as the UK's Standard Chartered, which makes most of its profit in Asia.

“Today we met and agreed that we would work together to build on all this with a common aim to help London retain its position as the leading international financial centre,” the statement said.

According to Aaron Klein, a fellow at Brookings Institute these statements are meant to “instill confidence during periods of market turmoil.”

“Yes, London will remain a financial services hub, as it has been one for a long time. But the size and scope of that hub could be very different depending on how things shake out with Brexit,” he said.

Other EU countries have shown signs of trying to attract these jobs to their cities since the vote. On Wednesday, France announced it would put in place Europe's most favorable tax code for expats.

The banks and Chancellor Osborne acknowledged that London's role may have to change, but pledged to keep the city an attractive place to do business.

“We will also work together to identify the new opportunities that may now become available so that Britain remains one of the most attractive places in the world to do business,” the statement read.