Spain Seeks To Host Banks And Other Institutions Following Brexit
Spain wants to host banks and other institutions following the United Kingdom’ Brexit’s referendum, and as such an inter-ministerial work group will seek to promote the location in Spain of EU institutions and financial institutions, presently located in the U:, according to the Spanish government.
The Spanish Council of Ministers analyzed a report on some of the economic consequences of the UK’s exit from the EU (Brexit) and, in particular, on the effects this may have on the location of financial institutions and certain EU institutions that currently have their headquarters in that country.
As a result of this, a work group has been set up that will cover all ministerial departments, which will be coordinated by the Vice-Presidency of the Government. According to the explanation offered by the acting Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, its aim will be twofold.
The work group will first promote Spain’s candidature to host the European Banking Authority and the European Medicines Agency.
“These are two areas in which Spain is greatly interested and we will work on the possibility of at least one of them being located in Spanish territory”, Sáenz de Santamaría said. With this aim in mind, it will study how to boost Spain’s ability to receive these institutions and their senior staff from the perspective of such issues as employment, tax, home affairs, visas, etc.
Secondly, the work group will seek to strengthen Spain’s competitiveness to receive international banks located in the City of London that require secondary headquarters within the territory of the European Union.
The Government Spokesperson stressed that several countries are already vying to host these institutions and “Spain is in an optimum condition” to do so, thanks to the re-structuring of its financial sector and the quality of its healthcare system, “acknowledged as one of the best in the world”. The question, she added, is “to begin work now, with time on our side and a horizon to offer the best possible conditions to host these institutions”.