David Prosser: So much for banks quitting the UK

Outlook For all the talk about Barclays or HSBC turning their backs on the UK, it would appear that London is more likely to acquire a major new bank than it is to lose one. The Wall Street Journal suggested yesterday that UBS plans to split is investment bank off from its retail operation and to relocate the former out of Switzerland. London is on the shortlist of destinations.

One imagines London would not get the nod before the ongoing Independent Commission on Banking has set the scene for regulatory reforms in this country. But on the basis of its interim report, its proposals look set to be less draconian than the reforms Switzerland is undertaking.

Not everyone would welcome another investment bank making London its home. But there's a delicious irony in UBS even considering a move here, given the endless whingeing about regulation and tax from some in the City.