Banking group Barclays has reportedly decided Dublin will be its new European headquarters in the event the UK loses access to EU markets post-Brexit.
Bloomberg on Thursday cited unnamed sources as saying that Barclays plans to add 150 staff to its current 100-strong office at Hatch Street in the Irish capital.
The news agency reported that the bank started 'scouting' Dublin for office space in January and had been in contact with Irish financial regulators about increasing its business activities in Ireland.
The contingency plans are designed to give the bank options in the event UK prime minister Theresa May fails to get agreement from the other EU members states within the two-year Brexit negotiation period to perserve access for UK-based companies to the trading bloc.
'We have made clear repeatedly that we will plan for a range of Brexit contingencies, including building greater capacity into our existing operations in Dublin,' the bank said in a statement. 'Identifying available office space is a necessary and predictable part of that contingency planning process.'
Standard Chartered, another UK financial group, is also reportedly considering making Dublin its European headquarters, with Credit Suisse Group looking at expanding its presence in the Irish capital.
Last November, it emerged Japanese banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) planned to upgrade its Amsterdam office to European headquarter status alongside London in the run-up to the UK's exit from the EU.
Other Japanese banks stressed they would maintain their headquarters in London, though Mizuho Financial, is also beefing up its Amsterdam office.
Russian state-owned VTB Bank was more forthright. VTB deputy president Herbert Moos said in October that the bank is going to scale down its London operations and 'building them up elsewhere'.
