The head of Germany's banking federation on Tuesday launched a stinging attack on Britain's approach to Brexit, condemning Prime Minister Boris Johnson as "irresponsible" for risking a chaotic no-deal departure.
Andreas Krautscheid, head of the Bundesverband Deutscher Banken (Association of German Banks), said his members were now "assuming the worst will come" and Britain will crash out of the EU without a divorce deal on October 31.
Krautscheid said Germany's finance capital Frankfurt was already seeing a "remarkable" influx of banks and bankers fleeing London as Brexit looms.
His intervention comes as Johnson insists he will take Britain out the bloc with or without a deal on October 31 and British MPs try to stop him, with a possible general election on the cards.
Johnson's hardline approach, insisting the EU change the divorce deal agreed with his predecessor Theresa May, has increased fears of a no-deal departure, which experts say would cause major economic turmoil.
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"Now we are assuming that the worst will come. I'm still completely frustrated and angry at the way British politics is proceeding," Krautscheid told reporters in Brussels, comparing the British premier to the bombastic US president.
"What Johnson is doing right now is in fact the Trump method: trying to mobilise through polarisation, accepting maximum collateral damage even for his own people. I think that is irresponsible -- it's a gambler's game."
He said he was confident that even after a no deal, Germany's banking sector would carry on -- and Brexit had even been good for business.
"The flow (of banks coming to Frankfurt from London) is considerable. London will remain an important location... but it's very remarkable for Frankfurt," he said, adding that around 45 banks have moved business, clients and assets already, with 20 moving headquarters.
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