Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs...in London

coastline

zagubov wrote: »

I don't believe the basic premise here, about bankers leaving when taxes rise.

Where's the data to back it up?

People make these predictions as if economics and human behaviour is like one billiard ball clicking into another like a giant Newtonian mechanism.

They could go to Switzerland. Their wives'll really love it. I'll bet.

Or go and live like a battery hen on level 80 in flatbock 18910 on one of the Asian tiger islands where everybody has to run backwards when the tide comes in.

Nope, it's far more likely they'll just find a mechanism to stay in London. It's a major world city in a prime location. It's a loooong way away from collapsing into the financial version of modern Detroit.

Even the boss of RBS has said this is overblown...they could have all left years ago and formed their own community.
Pay has gone up dramatically in the boardroom around the world yet they were happy enough before the huge surge...never heard anyone clearing off in the 70-80's..

ERICS_MUM

my theory is that this is just the next stage of Germany's and their french poodle's determination to scupper London's place as the largest financial centre in Europe and possibly the world. The bonuses proposal would not really affect Frankfurt and Paris even less.

They both assumed that the intro of the Euro would see a wholesale switch of the finance centre from London to them but this has not happened, in fact London processes much higher volumes and values of euro than was predicted. So Germany and France are desperate to try something else !

For the same reason, Germany and France encouraged the "Club Med" countries to join the euro despite their economies not meeting the convergance criteria. Now the chickens have come home to roost and frankly Germany/France will be worried that they could lose more business to the UK.

mystic_trev

Generali wrote: »

There have been some great wheezes down the years. Paying bonuses in gold or even copper to avoid NI, giving loans in Turkish Lira which tended to depreciate in value quite predictably each year (until one year it went up - that ended badly). The devil will be in the detail.

Thrugelmir

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Most won't simply up sticks because most bankers are indeed, just people like the rest of us.

If Europe becomes anti bank. Then Asian operations will grow. As there's where the profits are to be made. Nothing to stop HSBC moving head office as has been discussed before. As does far more business there than in the UK.

abankerbutnotafatcat

If a bank like HSBC relocated its HQ the majority of ppl affected would b non-bankers because the bankers (and I mean the proper definition of: Banker: a deposit taker and lender) stay where their customers are. It would be the HO infrastructure (non-top execs) who would be made redundant and replaced by their HK equivalents.

Generali

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

If a bank like HSBC relocated its HQ the majority of ppl affected would b non-bankers because the bankers (and I mean the proper definition of. Banker: a deposit taker and lender) stay where their customers are. It would be the HO infrastructure (non-top execs) who would be made redundant and replaced by their HK equivalents.

Plus lawyers, accountants etc providing professional services to the HO.

abankerbutnotafatcat

Plus the support staff for a huge Canary Wharf building; the minimum wage or not much more crew of security, receptionists, cleaners and catering etc.