Banking executives have warned thousands of jobs could be at risk depending on the deal Britain secures with the European Union.

Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan, has estimated at least 4,000 of its 16,000 UK employees could be shifted to the continent, depending on the outcome of negotiations.

JP Morgan's vice chairman Mark Gavin, responding to questions about the 4,000 jobs from the Treasury Select Committee, said: "The evolution of our staff count and of our activities will be very much a function of the ultimate deal that is secured.

"There is clearly a scenario where actually one does envisage that kind of outcome."

There have been concerns that tens of thousands of jobs could be lost in the City of London.


The London Stock Exchange put the figure at 232,000 by 2024, in the event of a "no-deal" Brexit scenario.

A study by Reuters published in March found 5,000 roles were expected at that point to be shifted to the EU from London by 29 March 2019, the date of Britain's EU exit.

Mr Gavin said Brexit contingency planning alone will result in "hundreds" of jobs being shifted by his bank to the continent ahead of March.

The final number of jobs to be shifted would be dependent on the kind of Brexit deal secured.

"That is not a forecast, that is a scenario. It is a scenario that can be mitigated by a series of arrangements."

Executives from Barclays Ireland and Citi also told MPs that they were shifting hundreds of jobs now and the number could be "substantially larger" in future years.

Citi plans to move around 150 to 200 staff out of a workforce of 6,000 in London, while Barclays also expects a "small number" of roles - around 150 - to move from London to Europe, with most heading to Dublin.

The banks are preparing for the worst case scenario of a no-deal and called on the government to secure an agreement as soon as possible.

James Bardrick, head of Citi UK and chief executive of Citigroup's global markets division, said it is "critically important that we do whatever is necessary to get an agreement over a Withdrawal Bill and allow a transition period for our industry to take place".

Mr Garvin also stressed the importance of a deal to the banking sector.

He said: "What's important is to bring an end to this uncertainty as soon as possible.

"From a staff standpoint, they want to know where they stand, so the sooner we can tell them that the better."

A number of Asian banks, including Nomura, Daiwa, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and Mizuho Securities are moving operations to Frankfurt.

Goldman Sachs, which employs 6,500 UK staff, is set to at least double its Frankfurt workforce to 400.

And HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, plans to move 1,000 jobs to Paris.