Germany's banking capital facing COVID-19 job losses: study
October 21, 2020
The German economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, but even Frankfurt's investment bankers will not emerge unscathed, according to the results of a study published Wednesday.
Germany's banking hub is set to lose thousands of jobs from the economic shocks of the COVID-19 crisis, according to an analysis by Helaba bank.
The Frankfurt-based bank said it expects there would be 2,000 jobs cut by the end of 2022, or a about a 3% reduction from before the outbreak of the pandemic earlier this year.
Read more: Coronavirus: Europe's banks struggle to survive a second wave
Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, Germany's two largest private financial institutions, have already announced plans to cut around 28,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years due to the financial crisis caused by the pandemic.
The fifth-largest city in Germany had been trying to tempt financiers from London as the UK prepares to leave the EU's single market at the end of this year.
Industry experts wanted to attract some 10,000 bankers, but estimates say just 3,500 new jobs will have been been created between 2019 and 2022.
Helaba said any influx of financiers will not make up for any losses expected due to the virus.
Frankfurt, a city of 700,000 on the Main river, had wanted to attract people put off by restrictions on cross-border trade and travel post-Brexit.
jf/rs (AFP, dpa)