Barclays, the epitome of British wealth management, is quietly shifting private bankers out of London ahead of the U.K.'s European Union exit, finews.asia has learned.

By Shruti Advani, Editor-at-Large, finews.asia

British high street lender Barclays is moving European coverage private bankers to Dublin at the end of this month in anticipation of Brexit, a source told finews.com.

The shift towards Ireland highlights is an ironic concession for the quintessentially English bank to make. It is a commercial response to the economic reality of a popular vote in 2016 to leave the European Union.

«Some bankers have already moved, some will do so at the end of October,» confirms a person with direct knowledge of the matter. «The rest will move in tranches up to March 2019.» The bank is also expected to change the booking centre for several clients from London to Dublin.

Pay Hikes Offered

The shift gives credence to a gleeful «Irish Times» report in August that Barclays would Ireland's largest bank if it rolled out a Brexit contingency plan that shifts ownership of its European arms into Dublin.

«Yes, a number of bankers are moving,» a second source who does not work at the bank told finews.com. «Most relationship managers have been offered a 30 percent hike in compensation,» he said. He believes they may well use the opportunity to negotiate better pay at rival banks.

Short-Lived Stint?

The move will not affect relationship managers who cover Swiss clients, as they are expected to be largely unaffected by the U.K’s decision to exit the European Union.

«Some of the managers are not moving their families, citing short notice of the move as the reason,» he explains. «My sense is these guys will move for one or two quarters and then move to another bank at the new higher salary.» Barclays did not respond to requests for a comment.