BERLIN, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the Japanese investment bank Nomura has joined Goldman Sachs and UBS in choosing Frankfurt as the base for its operations in the European Union after "Brexit".
Nomura will seek regulatory approval for the move and begin searching for suitable office space this month, before transferring less than 100 employees from London to Frankfurt.
Although the figure appears relatively modest, it takes the number of confirmed staff relocations to Frankfurt to a total of 2,600 since the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union.
Tokyo-based Nomura will be accompanied by its smaller Japanese rival Daiwa, which also plans to open a subsidiary in the German financial center.
Frankfurt currently leads Paris (1000) and Dublin (150) in the number of confirmed staff relocations according to Bloomberg data, however the final destination of 9,000 employees which banks have announced the intention of moving has not yet been confirmed.
So far, the trend confirms the view of the German government that Brexit presents a significant opportunity to strengthen the domestic financial industry and attract well-paid jobs.
"Seeing as the future relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union remain unclear and market access for London is not guaranteed, many firms in the financial services sector are already confronted with the issue of relocation," the Federal Ministry of Finance recently stated in its monthly report.
The report described Germany as a "stable and attractive location" and stressed the advantages of the city of Frankfurt as a leading European finance hub and home to some of the continents key regulatory bodies for the industry such as the European Central Bank.
Nomura's decision comes despite the unexpected loss of the parliamentary majority enjoyed by British prime minister Theresa May and her conservative party in a snap election on June 8.
Without the means to pass legislation, representatives of the British financial industry have voiced the hope that the government would abandon a "Hard Brexit" and instead seek to remain in the Single Market.
British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philipp Hammond and Bank of England governor Mark Carney in particular have been pushing for such a "softer" approach since the election which would prioritize economic concerns over goals to reduce immigration.
