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If
the government begins the divorce process in March as promised,
that could mean banks start moving in late 2017.
Carney told lawmakers that banks and insurers were making
contingency plans in case Britain loses a lot of its access to
the EU's single market but said it would be "precipitous" for
them to take final decisions now about what Brexit will mean.
"If the time to exit is measured in 18 months or less and the
degree of exit is viewed as considerable then a number of those
firms would take decisions, that's the best guidance I can
give," Carney said.
His comments came as the European Central Bank's banking
supervisor Sabine Lautenschlaeger said queries from banks
considering relocating some operations from Britain to the euro
zone were rising.
Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants to begin the
two-year process for negotiating Britain's exit from the EU by
end-March, although that schedule might be delayed by a court
decision that parliament should approve the launch of talks.
The government's likely stance in talks - particularly how it
will balance a desire to curb immigration with retaining access
to the single market - remains unclear.
Some large banks which use London to run their EU operations
have said they could start moving staff as early as 2017 if
there is no clarity on whether Britain will have single market
access.
On Monday, Germany's finance ministry said it is fielding an
increasing number of information requests from financial
institutions in Britain considering a move to Germany since the
UK's decision to leave the EU.
(Reporting by David Milliken and UK bureau; Writing by William
Schomberg; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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