Frankfurt Is Lukewarm On Brexit

Some in the sleepy city are wary of the cash and glitz an influx of bankers might bring

- Steven Arons & Alessandro Speciale

In the scramble to lure financial work from London in the wake of Brexit, Frankfurt is leading the pack— at least nine banks have said they’ll move positions there. That could ultimately mean 10,000 new jobs and well over $100 million annually in additional tax revenue, auguring an economic and cultural rebirth for Germany’s financial capital. Micha Hintz hates the idea.

“Brexit will be very bad for people with a normal income,” says Hintz, an owner of the 37-year old Karl Marx bookshop, echoing local activists seeking to protect what they say is a cosy, comfortable city with little need for the cash and glitz that legions of wealthy newcomers might bring. “It may be good for the city’s international competitiveness,” Hintz, 61, says from behind his impressively Marxian beard. “But what we need is affordable housing. And the population has no voice in this.”

If longtime residents of Frankfurt are leery of a Brexit-driven wave of new arrivals, the bankers themselves aren’t overly enthused about the idea either. The city of 700,000 can be charitably described as sleepy, at least when compared with London, one of the most culturally diverse places on the planet, with a population of 8.8 million.