Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World

by Adam Tooze

The loudest of all and the most committed to the Remain cause were America’s investment banks. Given their role in the City of London, they had a huge stake in Britain’s position in the EU and they were not afraid to say so. London was their gateway to the European economy and to eurozone business. As economists from Goldman Sachs pointed out, BIS statistics showed that US banks held $424 billion in claims (assets) on UK borrowers at the end of 2015, including $46 billion in loans to UK banks. Derivatives, guarantees and credit commitments brought the total to $919 billion. UK bank exposure to the United States was even larger, at $1.4 trillion of financial claims.40 Given these investments, it was hardly surprising that Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley all made substantial and early donations to the Remain campaign.41 Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan campaigned openly alongside Osborne in favor of Remain.