May to meet Wall Street‎ chiefs for talks on 'hard Brexit'

Theresa May will meet the heads of ‎some of Wall Street's biggest firms for talks about her plan for a 'hard Brexit' that they believe will trigger the loss of thousands of jobs from the UK's financial services sector.

Sky News has learnt that the chief executives of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) , JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley (Xetra: 885836 - news) - three of the biggest banks in the US - and the boss of Blackrock (Sao Paolo: BLAK34.SA - news) , the world's largest asset manager, have been invited to meet the Prime Minister for private talks on Thursday.

The meeting will take place at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where financiers are digesting the implications‎ of Mrs May's vow on Tuesday to withdraw the UK from Europe's single market.

Those attending the talks later this week will include some of the most generous backers of the campaign to keep the UK in the European Union.

Goldman and JP Morgan donated £500,000 apiece to Britain Stronger in Europe, while Morgan Stanley made a £250,000 donation.

Jes Staley, the American chief executive of Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) , and Steve Schwarzman, chairman of private equity group Blackstone (NYSE: BX - news) , may also have been invited to the meeting with the Prime Minister, City sources suggested.

It was unclear whether Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, or other Cabinet ministers attending Davos would accompany Mrs May to the meeting.

Wall Street banks have warned consistently that the loss of access to the EU's 'passporting' regime, which enables firms to trade seamlessly across Europe's borders, would lead to them relocating jobs from London.

Mr Dimon said shortly before last June's referendum that up to 4,000 JP Morgan jobs could leave the UK, while Goldman and Morgan Stanley have made similar statements about the impact on their business.

Mrs May is likely to be challenged by the Wall Street chiefs about her willingness to seek transitional arrangements for the financial services sector once the UK leaves the EU.

Responding to her speech, TheCityUK lobbying group said the Prime Minister had been "right to emphasise the need for a bespoke arrangement with the EU" but warned that "ensuring sufficient time for highly regulated industries such as UK-based financial and related professional services to do this will be key".

None of the banks would comment on Tuesday, while a Downing Street spokesman could not be reached.