FILE PHOTO: A Bank of America sign is displayed outside a branch in Tucson, Arizona January 21, 2011. REUTERS/Joshua Lott/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of America BAC.N will relocate up to 125 jobs from Britain mostly to Ireland as it prepares for Britain's exit from the European Union, according to a corporate filing.

The bank said employees in finance, risk, compliance, technology and credit functions would be affected and the moves will take place between July and December this year.

Bank of America last July became the first U.S. bank to pick Dublin as its new base for its EU operations, a necessary step to continue serving its clients as Britain prepares to leave the bloc in March 2019.

The regulatory filing seen by Reuters on Thursday and reported on earlier by Irish media showed the job moves will be a combination of staff relocation and new hires in Ireland.

As part of its preparation for Brexit Bank of America is merging Bank of America Merrill Lynch International, its London-based subsidiary, into its similarly-named Irish entity based in Dublin.

The up to 125 roles the bank said are likely to shift across the Irish Sea represent a first phase of job moves, with a second phase possible depending on the outcome of Britain’s negotiations with the EU, the bank added.

Those “potential second phase relocations” would mostly be to France, with some going to Ireland, Germany and other locations, the bank said.