, Columnist
Keep Looking for the Brexit Effect on U.K. Banking
The country has grown as a base for global lending since the 2016 referendum.
Credit where credit is due.
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People keep saying that the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union will force the global financial industry to move some of its business out of London. It’s thus odd to see it doing the exact opposite, at least in terms of lending.
London’s role as a financial center involves a lot of cross-border lending. A French bank’s U.K. unit might provide credit to a German investment fund, or a U.S. bank might make industrial loans in Europe from its U.K. subsidiary. Hence, the amount of credit flowing from the U.K. to other countries can serve as an indicator of the country’s prominence in global finance.