Citigroup’s chief executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa has told staff at the bank that London will remain its regional headquarters after the UK leaves the European Union - but it is assuming the country will lose all passporting rights into the bloc.

In a memo to staff on March 30, a copy of which has been seen by FN, James Cowles said: “For planning purposes, we must assume a ‘hard’ Brexit in which the UK loses its ability to passport into the EU. A hard Brexit would require certain changes, including relocating certain client-facing roles to the EU from the UK, and the possible creation of a new broker-dealer entity within the EU.”