2021 will have been a successful year for high earners in European finance. According to the European Authority (EBA), 1,957 people working in a bank or financial institution earned more than 1 million euros that year. Unheard of since this data began to be collected, in 2010. In 2020, they were only 1,383 to earn as much, and there were around a thousand each year between 2010 and 2016.
Part of this surge in compensation comes from the good health of the financial markets in 2021, which gave rise to large bonuses. But a Brexit effect is also very likely, as the United Kingdom – and therefore the City – left the European single market on 1er January 2021.
The EBA does not detail where these “fat cats” (“fat cats”). Since Brexit, Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Amsterdam and Luxembourg have been fighting to attract them. No definitive statistics are available, but the trend is summarized by William Wright, the director of New Financial, a think tank that has tried to measure the phenomenon. “In terms of the number of companies that have moved, Dublin leads the way, but it includes a lot of smaller asset management companies; in terms of the amount of assets moved, Frankfurt is in the lead, and often the European headquarters are located there [notamment parce que la Banque centrale européenne, qui est le régulateur, y est présente]. But, in terms of jobs, what really matters is Paris which is in the lead. »
“A marathon, not a sprint”
One by one, the financial centers put forward a few figures, which do not necessarily correspond to this classification. Choose Paris Region, the Ile-de-France promotion agency, mentions 6,000 direct jobs received thanks to Brexit, to which must be added indirect jobs. Frankfurt Main Finance, which represents Germany’s financial capital, estimates the level at 7,000 jobs. Luxembourg talks about “2000-2500 jobs”.
However, this competition is only just beginning. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint”, says Hubertus Väth, the founder of Frankfurt Main Finance. According to him, the secondary financial centers which offered exceptional tax advantages in the first place will not last the distance. “There is a natural tendency towards consolidation. » Jean-Charles Simon, director of Paris Europlace, which represents the Paris market, confirms: “In Paris, we have entered a virtuous circle, with new hires leading to others. »