BERLIN, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Petra Roth (CDU), who served as the mayor of Frankfurt for 17 years, believed that the German capital Berlin will compete with a host of European cities to lure banks leaving Britain in the wake of the Brexit vote, Roth told dpa on Thursday.
Unlike Dublin, Paris and Frankfurt which have emphasized their role as continental centers of finance as they seek to attract British firms, Berlin has so far focused its "Brexit" pitch on its major role it already plays as a home to creative industries and start-ups.
Shortly after the British referendum last June, the municipal government of the German capital rented buses in London with the caption "Keep calm and move to Berlin". The buses were driven through areas popular with artists and technology entrepreneurs such as Shoreditch.
Roth noted that Frankfurt enjoys an advantage over its rivals as it is already home to key institutions including the European Central Bank (ECB) and German Bundesbank.
The British financial services group "TheCityUK" estimated that 70,000 jobs in the industry are at risk if Britain leaves the European Union as well as its single market.
London Stock Exchange Chief Xavier Rolet has even predicted as many as 270,000 job losses, should Britain lose the right to engage in euro-clearing, a move urged by France in particular.
So far, UBS and Goldman Sachs have announced moving a combined total of 2,500 staff from London to Frankfurt, making the German city the current frontrunner ahead of Paris with 1,000 and Dublin with 150 confirmed relocations.
JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank have reported moving 4,000 staff each without indicating their future location.
