Assets of large banks and financial companies were transferred from the UK to the European Union ahead of Brexit. These include financial operations, staff members and clients' assets totaling £800 billion (over $1 trillion). The UK is planning to leave the EU at the end of March 2019. The data was provided by EY consulting company which tracked public statements made by 222 of the largest UK financial services companies.

EY analysts noted that only public data were used for the calculations, so the final figure may be higher. At the same time, not all companies that shifted operations from London to other countries disclosed data on the value of assets. This number is still modest given total assets of the UK banking sector alone is estimated to be almost £8 trillion, but may become larger as we move towards Brexit,” EY said.

At the end of November 2018, about 36 percent of financial companies announced a transfer of a part of operations out of London to other European capitals. Over half (55 percent) of surveyed banks and brokerage companies, as well as 44 percent of management companies and 42% percent of insurance firms, moved their assets. Approximately 30 percent of companies chose Dublin, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, and Paris.

Earlier, the Bank of England warned that without a clear agreement on conditions of access to the single market, Brexit consequences would be worse for the UK than the 2008 financial crisis.