How the City of London invented offshore banking • Hacker News Board

Re: How the City of London invented offshore banking

#21

Post by giggidygig » Sun, Sep 09, 2018, 7:52 AM UTC

user5994461 wrote: post #13

rmvt wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's delusional to think that they can be moved. no. it's delusional to think otherwise, unless you're naive enough to think anyone actually means an office is moved overnight.

You're naive to think that thousands of people can't be relocated overnight. Historically, that came along war and starvation. Hopefully, politicians are just messing around and not trying to go down that road.

I agree, these large multinational banks, just like any other large multinational company, can do things very quickly if needed.

Dump local staff, re-hire in the other country. Dump local back office staff, re-hire in the other country, or, they already have it outsourced.

If its on some executive's KPI or has their yearly bonus at risk... mountains can be moved in a blink of an eye.

Re: How the City of London invented offshore banking

#22

Post by n4r9 » Sun, Sep 09, 2018, 7:58 AM UTC

ForFreedom wrote: post #20

5ersi wrote: post #3

My theory is that The City was the primary force behind Brexit. They are by far the largest and most influential entity and one of the only few that are going to be better off after Brexit. Even more, staying in the EU would actually jeopardize their special tax-heaven status as EU was moving toward more banking regulation. Note: EU rules or laws, once accepted by local parliaments, have the status of international l…

who/what is the "The City"?

It variously means London, The City of London (which is a district inside London with an unusual political status), or the host of financial and trading services industries which in the UK are largely based in the City of London.

Re: How the City of London invented offshore banking

#23

Post by simonh » Sun, Sep 09, 2018, 8:04 AM UTC

5ersi wrote: post #3

My theory is that The City was the primary force behind Brexit. They are by far the largest and most influential entity and one of the only few that are going to be better off after Brexit. Even more, staying in the EU would actually jeopardize their special tax-heaven status as EU was moving toward more banking regulation. Note: EU rules or laws, once accepted by local parliaments, have the status of international l…

What mechanism do you think the banks used to persuade voters in the north and regions to vot leave, while themselves overwhelmingly voting remain, while also keeping this mechanism secret?

There was no secret conspiracy. It was a free vote.

Re: How the City of London invented offshore banking

#24

Post by simonh » Sun, Sep 09, 2018, 8:17 AM UTC

NeedMoreTea wrote: post #4

tim333 wrote: post #2

I'm skeptical offshore banking started with the brits in the 1940s. Wikipedia has banking starting around 2000 BC in Assyria and later ancient Greece. They also had islands with shores and I'm sure someone figured they might avoid hassle from the local rulers by taking their money to another island.

The article covers all that. Warburg missed the freedom, and excitement, of the German markets in the 20s and 30s. So created an instrument, Eurobonds, in the 1960s to escape the carefully constructed international limitations of Bretton Woods. Add further desire to be outside the system from the US not being a neutral arbiter of the postwar international currency. That led to the inspiration for Eurobonds: the Eurod…

>That Warburg managed to get away with something so artificially constructed to evade laws is, to say the least, disappointing.

Why should a person in London be bound by laws in the US? Warburg did nothing illegal.

I’m all for the rule of law in general, but it’s unreasonable to try to use laws to distort fundamental economic reality, while also actually acting in such a way to undermine the economic system those laws were supposed to create. That’s what the US was doing. They were trying to cheat the markets for political purposes.

Re: How the City of London invented offshore banking

#25

Post by snthd » Sun, Sep 09, 2018, 8:30 AM UTC

ForFreedom wrote: post #20

5ersi wrote: post #3

My theory is that The City was the primary force behind Brexit. They are by far the largest and most influential entity and one of the only few that are going to be better off after Brexit. Even more, staying in the EU would actually jeopardize their special tax-heaven status as EU was moving toward more banking regulation. Note: EU rules or laws, once accepted by local parliaments, have the status of international l…

who/what is the "The City"?

http://www.cgpgrey.com/blog/the-secret-city-of-london.html

Re: How the City of London invented offshore banking

#26

Post by Lazare » Sun, Sep 09, 2018, 8:51 AM UTC

ForFreedom wrote: post #20

5ersi wrote: post #3

My theory is that The City was the primary force behind Brexit. They are by far the largest and most influential entity and one of the only few that are going to be better off after Brexit. Even more, staying in the EU would actually jeopardize their special tax-heaven status as EU was moving toward more banking regulation. Note: EU rules or laws, once accepted by local parliaments, have the status of international l…

who/what is the "The City"?

"The City" is to London as "Wall Street" is to New York. It's a term for one specific geographical part of the city which historically was a centre of the financial industry, and is now used to refer to the financial industry in general.

Re: How the City of London invented offshore banking

#27

Post by sgt101 » Sun, Sep 09, 2018, 9:00 AM UTC

Lazare wrote: post #15

5ersi wrote: post #3

My theory is that The City was the primary force behind Brexit. They are by far the largest and most influential entity and one of the only few that are going to be better off after Brexit. Even more, staying in the EU would actually jeopardize their special tax-heaven status as EU was moving toward more banking regulation. Note: EU rules or laws, once accepted by local parliaments, have the status of international l…

Brexit has already been disastrous for The City, and it looks to become more so. It's practically the only thing that could unseat London as the premiere european finacial hub. Brexit is everything The City dreaded. > They are by far the largest and most influential entity and one of the only few that are going to be better off after Brexit. That is now what outside experts predict, nor is what the banks themselves a…

What you say makes rational sense, and yet when I walk down Bishopsgate or come out of the Canary Wharf station this is not the perception that I have. What I see is an explosion of activity and districts that are coming apart at the seems.

For me the big disaster for the City this year was the announcement that Crossrail 1 won't open for a year and the delays around Crossrail 2 and HS2 (although I think that HS2 is not the best way of spending the bag full of billions that it will cost).

Re: How the City of London invented offshore banking

#28

Post by cm2187 » Sun, Sep 09, 2018, 9:05 AM UTC

5ersi wrote: post #3

My theory is that The City was the primary force behind Brexit. They are by far the largest and most influential entity and one of the only few that are going to be better off after Brexit. Even more, staying in the EU would actually jeopardize their special tax-heaven status as EU was moving toward more banking regulation. Note: EU rules or laws, once accepted by local parliaments, have the status of international l…

Do you have anything to substantiate that? All banks were publicly against Brexit and, working myself in the City (and working on dealing with Brexit), I hardly know any banker who was pro Brexit. Banks are large organisations that can deal with the complexity of Brexit by setting up subsidaries and moving people, but this is perceived as a hassle and a distraction, not an opportunity.

As for EU banking regulations, I disagree, it is quite the opposite. The EU has many broken banking systems (like in Italy) which prevents them for going too harsh on banks. The UK regulator has systematically gold pleated every EU regulation, imposed harsher rules and regulatory ratios, and the UK ring-fencing is the only hard ringfencing I am aware of (along with Switzerland). Most other EU countries imposed symbolic ringfencing between retail and wholesale banking activities.

Polish immigration is what caused Brexit really.

Re: How the City of London invented offshore banking

#29

Post by cm2187 » Sun, Sep 09, 2018, 9:08 AM UTC

Chyzwar wrote: post #6

5ersi wrote: post #3

My theory is that The City was the primary force behind Brexit. They are by far the largest and most influential entity and one of the only few that are going to be better off after Brexit. Even more, staying in the EU would actually jeopardize their special tax-heaven status as EU was moving toward more banking regulation. Note: EU rules or laws, once accepted by local parliaments, have the status of international l…

After Brexit, The City will lose passporting rights and It would lose a large portion of the EU market. Most of City banks are large multinational corporations that care very little about British politics. If anything Brexit was surprising for them as well. City banks are already moving to EU. JP Morgan is moving to Dublin, Frankfurt, Warsaw, Luxemburg. Goldman is moving to Frankfurt and Paris. EU will start applying…

I am not aware that anyone is moving large amount of staff there. Most banks are moving as little staff as they can get away with.

Re: How the City of London invented offshore banking

#30

Post by lhnz » Sun, Sep 09, 2018, 9:16 AM UTC

Lazare wrote: post #18

user5994461 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>> EU will start applying pressure to move City jobs to the continent. Brexit will destroy City and London in long-term. Short term is good so far. Rent did not increase last year and jobs have less candidates applying. People literally stop coming overnight since Brexit, there is less competition for everything. Long term, we will see. Probably nothing good. Working at one of these big banks, there are 10 000 emplo…

> Working at one of these big banks, there are 10 000 employees for each building in canary wharf. It's delusional to think that they can be moved. They're already being moved. The question is how many and how fast, not whether it can happen at all.

It's strange because I've worked at one of the bank's mentioned for the last year and haven't heard of a single relocation.

I think that it might be overblown or not affecting technology departments.

I would have also thought that if 20% of the workforce were relocated it would be visible in the canteen, etc.

Not saying that a relocation isn't happening at all, just saying that it's not visible within a bank.