J.P. Morgan on Monday announced a deal to buy a bigger Dublin office to accommodate more than 1,000 employees as the US banking giant seeks to relocate London staff over Brexit. The bank, which employs 500 people in the Irish capital, had already said that it would relocate hundreds of workers from London to Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg because of Britain's vote in favour of exiting the European Union.

"Dublin has the vibrant business and technology communities that suit a global firm like ours," Carin Bryans, senior country officer for J.P. Morgan in Ireland, said in a statement Monday. "Given the momentum of our local businesses, this new building gives us room to grow and some flexibility within the European Union." Britain's financial sector fears the loss of "passporting" rights that allow EU member states to trade across national borders.

US investment bank Goldman Sachs and HSBC have also spoken of switching staff out of London because of Brexit. On the other hand, Germany's Deutsche Bank recently picked a site for its new British headquarters, highlighting its commitment to London. A consortium comprising Kennedy Wilson, Fairfax Financial Holdings and Irish state-run National Asset Management Agency on Monday said that it had sold the 12,000 square metre Capital Dock office building, due for completion in the final quarter of 2018, for an undisclosed amount.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017