Banks Still Moving $970 Billion of Assets From U.K., ECB Says

(Bloomberg) -- Big banks still had 810 billion euros ($970 billion) of capital markets-related assets to move from the U.K. to the European Union at the end of September, underlining the extent of the moves ahead as they adjust to operating after Brexit.

International banks have agreed to shift a total of about 1.2 trillion euros of assets to European units, said Andrea Enria, who leads the European Central Bank’s oversight arm. European banks “also planned to move a substantial amount of their capital market business” from the U.K., he said.

The ECB and other regulators are prodding the world’s top investment banks to complete their plans to beef up operations in the EU to make sure they can service clients in the region. While many banks have made significant progress in building out their units, Enria suggested the ECB will maintain the pressure on lenders to deliver on their promises on assets, staff and booking practices.

Enria, who spoke in a panel discussion on Friday, didn’t break down the numbers by banks or types of holdings.

Several big banks had planned to make significant progress on their relocations by the end of December or early this year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. planned to finish moving about 200 billion euros of assets to Frankfurt by the end of last year while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was shifting as much as $60 billion, Bloomberg reported last year. Morgan Stanley wanted to conclude the bulk of a 100 billion-euro transfer in the first quarter, Bloomberg reported in December.

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