LEAKED Bank of England analysis warns that Brexit will see the UK’s financial services haemorrhaging jobs.
According to the BBC, in the years following Britain leaving the EU, senior figures in the bank estimate some 75,000 jobs will be lost in the sector.
The report says once the UK is out of Europe, it’s going to be far harder for firms here to sell services. Some banks have already moved staff to other cities.
The Bank of England declined to comment on the report.
Other forecasts for job losses have ranged from about 30,000 jobs estimated by the Brussels-based Bruegel research group in February to as many as 232,000 by London Stock Exchange chief executive Xavier Rolet in January.
The SNP said the UK government needed to reveal its own analysis of the impact leaving the EU will have on the financial services sector.
Edinburgh is home to the largest number of finance jobs in the UK outside of London, and the SNP say they fear the Bank of England’s prediction could have a dire effect on the Scottish economy.
Edinburgh Eastern MSP Ash Denham said: “We know for a fact that the UK government has assessed the impact of Brexit upon Scotland and on financial services UK-wide. For them to ignore calls to publish these when jobs and our economy are at considerable risk is not just pig-headed — it’s the act of a reckless, irresponsible government.
“In light of these latest warnings from the Bank of England is high time we got some answers. If the Tories drag Scotland’s economy off a cliff edge and we crash out of Europe without a deal, then how many jobs are they putting at risk — and will they give our Scottish Parliament the powers to prevent that scenario from happening?”
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