富國銀行斥資3億英鎊在倫敦買樓
Wells Fargo has struck a ￡300m deal to buy a new European headquarters in the heart of London’s financial district in a much-needed boost for the city after the UK’s vote for Brexit.
富國銀行(Wells Fargo)已達成一筆3億英鎊的交易，在倫敦金融區核心地帶買入一座樓作爲新的歐洲總部。這無異於在英國公投決定退歐後給倫敦這座城市帶來了其迫切需要的好消息。
The world’s biggest bank by capitalisation has agreed to buy an 11-storey building known as 33 Central in one of the largest London property deals to be sealed since the June 23 referendum.
這家全球市值最高的銀行已同意買入一座名爲“中央33號”(33 Central)的11層建築，這是倫敦自6月23日退歐公投以來將敲定的最大地產交易之一。
The completion belies concerns that the UK capital’s office property market will suffer from the country’s vote to leave the EU as financial services groups consider relocating staff.
有人曾擔心，英國公投決定退歐後，隨着金融服務集團考慮把員工遷至別處，倫敦的寫字樓地產市場會受到打擊。上述交易的完成證明，這種擔心是錯誤的。
Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco, is a banking powerhouse in the US with $1.8tn in assets and 269,000 employees but has a low profile overseas and generates about 95 per cent of revenues domestically.
總部位於舊金山的富國銀行是美國銀行業的巨擘之一，擁有1.8萬億美元資產和26.9萬名員工。但該行在海外較爲低調，其營收的95%來自美國國內。
The US bank’s plan to move into the new 227,000-square-foot development near London Bridge may be seen as a sign of its international ambitions.
這個新樓盤位於倫敦橋(London Bridge)附近，面積達22.7萬平方英尺。富國銀行遷入該樓盤的計劃，或可視爲其國際雄心的證據之一。
Wells Fargo said there was no change in its international strategy. From London, the bank handles American corporate clients doing business in the UK as well as local companies that want to transact in the US.
該行表示，其國際戰略並未改變。該行會在倫敦爲在英國做生意的美國企業客戶辦理業務，併爲想在美國做生意的英國企業辦理業務。
The move into the new building on King William Street in 2018 will enable Wells Fargo to bring its 850 London staff, who are scattered in four locations across the City, into one location.
富國銀行將於2018年遷入這座位於威廉國王大街(King William Street)的新建築，屆時該行將能夠讓目前分處金融城四個地點辦公的800名倫敦員工集中到一處辦公。
“Wells has always stated that its goal with its international businesses was to support domestic clients,” said Ken Usdin, banking analyst at Jefferies in New York. “They have not made any overt moves so far that would lead us to stray from that understanding.”
傑富瑞(Jefferies)駐紐約的銀行業分析師肯•烏斯丁(Ken Usdin)表示：“富國銀行一直聲稱，其國際業務的目標是支持國內客戶。到目前爲止，他們還沒有采取過什麼會讓我們改變這種看法的公開舉措。”
