FIFTY banks including major Bournemouth employer JP Morgan are said to have talked to the European Union about relocating parts of their UK businesses.

Frankfurt, home of the European Central Bank, had emerged as the destination of choice, the business news network Bloomberg reported.

JP Morgan was nearing a deal to lease extra office space in the city, it said.

Daniele Nouy, head of supervision at the European Central Bank, said 50 banks had discussed Brexit business relocation plans with the EU, while 20 had licence applications at some stage of the assessment procedure.

The chief executive of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority has said up to 75,000 jobs in banking and finance could disappear from the UK if Britain leaves the EU without a deal on trade in financial services.

Around 10,000 jobs would be at risk on day one of Brexit, he said.

Earlier this week, it was reported that JP Morgan was among banks that told the US commerce secretary that they could start moving jobs out of the UK within months.