Investec eyes Dublin for Brexit banking subsidiary

Investec is eyeing a banking licence for its Irish business following Brexit but will wait to implement its contingency plans until the rules governing the UK’s departure from the EU become clearer, its boss has said.

The Anglo-South African lender and asset manager is considering converting the Dublin branch of its London bank into a subsidiary to ensure its continued access to Europe’s single market after Brexit, Stephen Koseff said.

However, unlike other banks, Investec is in no rush to secure a licence for the subsidiary, he added.

“We can’t apply until the rules are clear,” he said, as Investec posted a 13.4pc increase in annual pre-tax operating profits to £643.4m, on revenues that topped £2bn for the first time. “This is the difficult thing about Brexit, the rules are very unclear.”

Other big financial firms are already gearing up for banking licence applications and are scouting out office space in European cities, in preparation for shifting some operations out of London.

Lloyds Banking Group, for example, plans to submit an application to turn its Berlin branch into a subsidiary by the end of September.

Like Lloyds, Brexit will only affect a small part of Investec’s business. Mr Kosseff said: “We’re not too concerned about it, it’s like an irritation.”