JP Morgan has begun telling staff whether or not they will be relocating to the European Union ahead of Brexit, a senior boss at the US investment bank has said.

The firm - which employs 16,000 people in the UK - is planning to beef up its operations in Ireland, Germany and Luxembourg in preparation for what it deems the “worst case scenario” of a hard Brexit.

Sally Dewar, international head of regulatory affairs at JP Morgan, told a House of Lords committee on Wednesday that the bank was “already in execution mode” on its Brexit contingency plans.

She said discussions with European regulators were “already well in train” on transferring some of its infrastructure and banking licences away from the UK. She said she expected the Treasury to get less tax revenue from the firm as a result of some of its functions moving overseas.

While she did not say how many staff could move, the bank has previously warned that between 1,000 and 4,000 roles could go.