European Union refused to provide exceptions to British companies during Covid-19 crisis, and asked them to immediately relocate to the European continent.
London-based TP ICAP said yesterday that it cannot provide services to its EU customers because they have not yet completed their plan to relocate staff to Paris.
The company was originally scheduled to move 80 brokers from the UK to a new office in Paris before the end of the Brexit transition period last year. But due to coronavirus restrictions and looking for education for the children of its employees, the company failed to do so.
The company stated: “Part of the reason is the special circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the home orders and travel restrictions currently in effect. Therefore, it has not been possible to complete the TPIE‘s local office transfer of employees to EU27 or in the EU headquarters. Hire a broker as soon as possible as originally planned.”
TP ICAP insists it remains committed to taking action “as soon as possible,” but a spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the exact details.
European Central Bank executive Frank Elderson told members of the European Parliament: “It is vital that we continue to push banks that have relocated to the Eurozone to allocate sufficient personnel and assets to their new institutions.”
The European Union last year asked UK lending agencies to transfer personnel and assets to the euro zone in order to continue to provide services to the group’s customers after Brexit.
