Commonwealth Bank of Australia makes Brexit move to Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM: Commonwealth Bank of Australia said on Monday it will move its European headquarters from London to Amsterdam in coming months, following Britain's departure from the European Union.

Expected to be operational in the first half of 2021, the new Dutch office will help CBA to continue supporting European clients "regardless of the outcome of Brexit", the bank said in a news release.

"Our new European head office will also enable us to share valuable international insights with our Australian clients," CBA said.

CBA will employ around 50 people in Amsterdam by June, European director Wilco Hendriks told Dutch financial daily FD, while its London office would remain open with a four times bigger staff.

Since Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, a range of businesses in finance, information technology, media, and health have moved their head office from London to Amsterdam.

Most banks, however, opted to relocate their European headquarters to either Frankfurt or Paris.