HSBC 'to move jobs to Paris if UK leaves single market'

HSBC would move up to 1,000 staff from London to Paris if the UK left the single market, following Britain's vote to leave the EU, the BBC understands.

The staff who would be relocated would be those who already process payments made in euros for HSBC in Canary Wharf.

Thursday's referendum result means the UK will need to renegotiate its trade relationship with the European Union - including whether it remains part of the single market.

HSBC has declined to comment.

Eurozone leaders have warned that without unrestricted access to the EU, London's big finance firms could move operations outside the UK.

The head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said limited access to the single market would be the "price" of the UK leaving the EU.

If the UK was not in the single market or the European Economic Area (EEA), it would mean the loss of "passporting", which allows banks to operate without restriction in all EEA countries.

The EEA comprises the 28 members of the EU, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. EEA rules allow those non-EU countries to be part of the EU's single market, as long as they allow full freedom of movement of people.

The head of France's central bank, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, also warned that London's banks would lose their "financial passport" outside the single market or EEA.

Leave campaigners have dismissed concerns of widespread job losses, saying Britain should focus on developing trade relationships with non-EU countries.

Gerard Lyons, a UK economist who backed the Leave camp, said London would not be displaced as Europe's financial centre.

"We have the depth of skills, knowledge and experience that's hard to replicate," said Mr Lyons, an economic advisor to Boris Johnson.

Passporting for finance firms is a "negotiable issue" with the EU, he said, particularly as several European banks also use those rules to access the UK.

HSBC already has more than 10,000 staff working in Paris.

The London-based bank has about 48,000 UK workers across its retail and investment banking operations. A year ago, it said it was planning to cut 8,000 jobs in the UK to reduce costs.

Earlier this year, the bank said it would keep its global headquarters in London, following a review.

On Friday, sources told the BBC that up to 2,000 jobs at the US investment bank Morgan Stanley could be moved from London to Dublin or Frankfurt.