Bank of America is planning to hire more staff in France, but at a slower pace compared to the previous influx of employees following Brexit. Vanessa Holtz, who heads BofA Securities Europe and serves as the country executive for France, mentioned at a recent Bloomberg event that the bank will focus on growing in specific product areas and asset classes based on client demand. The plan is to make incremental hires this year, with Holtz noting that it will be more than a dozen new employees.
The decision to continue hiring in France comes as Bank of America aims to maintain the momentum it has built in the country and across Europe. The bank was one of the first US financial institutions to establish a sales and trading base in Paris for its European operations. As a result, its local workforce has grown significantly from around 100 to 600 employees within a year.
Following the trend set by Bank of America, other Wall Street banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have also shifted a large number of jobs from London to Paris post-Brexit. This movement has contributed to the creation of over 7,000 additional jobs in the financial sector in France between 2017 and 2022, as stated by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year.
To solidify Paris’s position as a prominent financial hub in Europe, France is currently working on a legislation aimed at enhancing the country’s appeal to financial services firms. One key provision in the bill is a measure to limit severance packages for highly paid individuals, including traders – a request frequently made by Wall Street employers in Paris. Holtz expressed openness to the proposed flexibility in the bill.
The efforts to attract more business to Paris and strengthen its financial sector reflect a broader trend in the European finance industry. With Bank of America’s commitment to sustained growth in France, the country is poised to further establish itself as a key player in the region’s financial landscape. For more business news and updates, visit bloomberg.com.